A New Life for Bloodthirst
by NgKQ
Summary: Bloodthirst the vampire pony has been living in Ponyville with Rarity and her daughters since the night he came. Read as he tries to accustom to the modern lifestyle with the ponies, developing friendship with the others and also his growing relationship with Rarity's eldest daughter Platinum Royale... (A side story from The Inheritors of Friendship)
1. Chapter 1

It was one warm afternoon in Ponyville.

A pinkish white unicorn filly, with sky blue mane and tail was running down the streets. She was chasing something. Something furry down the streets, which caught some ponies' attention.

"Eh-heh-heh, where do you want to go, Snizzy?" she called as she caught up and grabbed it. It was a tiny squirrel. "How about to the park? I can get some nuts for you."

They went there, and under a shady tree, dozens of dropped acorns scattered all over the ground. As they arrived, the squirrel immediately hopped off her head and raced to the tree.

"Hey, come back here!" she called to it. "There's a lot of acorns on the ground. Why don't you pick them?"

"Aha, who do we have here?" the voice of a stallion called.

"Some filly playing with her pet?" another asked.

"Wh-what do you want…?" the filly turned around and asked, scared.

"You love your little furry thing so much, huh?" the third one, who was a unicorn said while using magic to bring down the squirrel, sending it to be shocked.

"No, wait! Don't touch him!"

"Hehe, this creature looks fun," the first one said. "Let's tie him up and study him!"

Using strings they brought along, they tied the poor struggling creature's legs, and even used tape to seal its mouth to prevent it from chattering further.

"No! You can't do that to Snizzy!" the filly cried, trying to get her pet squirrel back.

"Oh, you wanna get him back?" challenged the second bully.

"Then tell me, little girl," responded the unicorn bully, grabbing her horn with his hooves. "Do you know magic?" He said while shaking her head, making her groaning with pain.

"If you don't know magic, then least you don't get your dear pet back!" he finished and shoved her away. "Boys, deal with her!"

With that, the other two bullies went and beat her up.

"Think you can get back your little pet? You might as well toughen up." The first bully said and trampled her.

"Oh, and no cutie mark, too?" the second one continued. "Get your mark before you can get back your pet! Hahaha…!"

"No, please… stop…!" The filly tried to fight back, but it was no use.

"Hey! What are you all doing!?" A hoarse voice called. They turned to see a black stallion with white hair and tail, and also strange-looking wings. It was Bloodthirst the vampire pony. He had been in Ponyville for two weeks, and it was only three days after his lover Platinum Royale was discharged from hospital after the horrible attack by his uncle, who eventually met his demise.

"Oh dear," the unicorn bully smirked. "When have I seen you before?"

"Let her go!" ordered Bloodthirst. "You're hurting that little filly!"

"Oh, is it? We just wanted to see her little pal," the first bully replied, showing him the poor tied up critter.

"Cruelty to animals? Well best that I report to Fluttershy!"

"Dare to report?" The unicorn bully challenged. "Well I think you should suffer the same fate as her!"

He approached Bloodthirst and raised his right hoof, but just as he was about to strike him, quick as lightning, Bloodthirst darted below and bit his other hoof heavily.

"Ow! What the-" He just turned up to see Bloodthirst's fangs, with his left hoof already bleeding. The other two had seen it too.

"He… doesn't look normal…" The first bully spoke, looking scared.

"Well, well, who's next?" growled Bloodthirst, spreading his bat wings. "If you don't get your doctor now, you'll be a vampire tonight…!"

"Holy horseapples! He's a vampire pony!" screamed the second bully.

"This is for real… RUN AWAY!" the unicorn bully instructed, and the three ran away without looking back.

"No one will believe your story for now!" said Bloodthirst. "And yes, I didn't even inject venom into your body, just to scare you." He turned towards the poor, tied up squirrel. Gently, he removed the strings and the tape. "Get back to your little master, old fellow," he whispered.

With that, the now freed squirrel raced to its sobbing master. The filly, who was crying from the bullies' beatings was suddenly interrupted by the touch and the chatter of a furry creature. She suddenly brightened up.

"Oh, Snizzy!" she wailed, hugging him. "I'm glad that you're okay…" She turned to Bloodthirst, who was looking at her. "You saved me, didn't you?"

"I… guess I did…" he chuckled.

"Are you really a vampire pony?" she asked, having overheard the moment the bullies fled.

Bloodthirst didn't answer directly. "Do you think I'm scary?"

"No, I don't think so," the filly replied, smiling. "You're my superpony."

"But I thought kids like you will get scared?"

"You must be Bloodthirst?"

"How did you know my name?"

"My mother told me all about you," the filly introduced. "I'm Novella Fantasy. I've always wanted to meet you."

"Bloodthirst! There you are!" Before Bloodthirst could reply, Sweetie Belle called.

"Sweetie Belle? Why are you looking for me?"

"Mommy!" Novella cried, leaping to her mother.

"Novella! What's with all those bruises on your body?"

"Some bullies tried to kill Snizzy, but he saved us in time!" She explained, pointing to Bloodthirst.

"I happened to see all the ruckus going on, so I came to intervene," added Bloodthirst. "These bullies won't believe about me for the time being."

"I see, so you saved my daughter," replied Sweetie gracefully. "You know, we bought this squirrel from Fluttershy at around five hundred bits! If you didn't save him in time I'm very sure Fluttershy will be very, very mad."

"You know, Mommy," said Novella. "You were right. Bloodthirst isn't a scary pony. He's a hero!"

"I was quite surprised," went on Bloodthirst. "Children are usually scared when they see my horrible figure." He hung his head low, thinking about his sad times again. "I honestly loved children. They are just too adorable."

Sweetie Belle cheered him. "Don't be sad. I already told Novella that you're just an innocent vampire pony. You just wanted to be friends with everypony in Ponyville."

"Yeah, you gave those bullies a lesson! You're my best big brother," Novella said, hugging him. He could only look at her embarrassingly.

"Oh, by the way, Bloodthirst," said Sweetie Belle. "Would you like to come and see me tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow? What for?"

"Wait and see," she replied. "I'm taking you to meet somepony special. In the meantime just go home and rest. Rarity probably wants you now…"

"Oh, alright…" He said and went back.

Later, during dinner, Bloodthirst sat with Rarity and her daughters around the dining table. Fortunately, there was room for a fourth pony.

"I hope this isn't too narrow," said Prudence Aura.

"It's alright, it's fine for me," replied Bloodthirst.

"As long as you feel comfortable here, darling," assured Rarity.

"So, what's on the menu?"

"Stewed chicken in soup mixed with herbal spices. You'll love it," replied Platinum Royale.

Bloodthirst took a handful of the meat, and sank his fangs and teeth into it. At that moment, Bloodthirst brightened up.

"What's the matter, Bloodthirst?" asked Prudence. "Is it too good for you?"

"I… I love it!" he said, with tears in his eyes. "It used to be my favorite food Mom cooked when I was a colt…! This is the first time in eight years I'm eating this!"

Rarity was surprised. "Oh, my! I didn't realize that I cooked one of your past favorites! Must be all those years drinking blood, horrible!"

"Yes, I know."

"Which reminds me," interrupted Platinum. "Do you have any one of your adventures today?"

"Well…" he began. "Somepony called me a hero…"

"Oh! Who was it?" inquired Prudence.

"It's… it's Sweetie Belle's daughter! I saw her being bullied, so I came to drive those bullies away…"

"You saved her, that's why she called you a hero!"

"Novella Fantasy is just like her mother when she was a filly," explained Rarity. "She's desperate to find her own cutie mark, and along the way they did lots of silly things, mostly causing trouble but their innocent behavior has caught the attention of everypony. She's formed a new Cutie Mark Crusader team with her mother's friends' children, and they all love taking risks to find their cutie marks. That's why she isn't scared seeing you."

"But she told me that her mom told her all about me!"

"Told her all about you? That's good then!" said Prudence. "We all like to listen to Auntie Sweetie's stories!"

"I was really surprised, because usually, foals become scared when they see my appearance," he said sadly. "But… this little filly was totally different. It's like she's an angel sent from heaven…"

"She's our relative, definitely she'll be close to you!" remarked Platinum.

"And don't forget Malinae whom we met the first day!" reminded Prudence. "She's also innocent."

"Oh, yeah, Malinae," said Bloodthirst, remembering the youngest daughter of Applejack who loved to paint anything in sight.

That night, Bloodthirst slept on a mattress beside Platinum's bed. He felt quite uneasy lying down. He had a lot to think, the small filly, Novella Fantasy he met today and meeting Sweetie Belle for somepony special tomorrow.

Not long later he drifted to sleep.

But his fears soon began.

"Where am I? This is…" Huge amounts of heat surrounded and suffocated him. From the distance, he could hear the sound of fire burning.

"Fire… is this… Tartarus… again?" Apparently it wasn't the first time he was dreaming this. From the day Platinum was discharged home, he began to have weird dreams.

As Bloodthirst ventured further, he could hear sounds of demons hissing. He was worried that they will eventually target him.

He walked over a deep valley, where he could see sharp metallic thorns and knives sticking out of the ground. He watched with horror as ponies were sent down to the valley, screaming as the thorns and knives pierced their bodies, making him feel gross.

Sure enough, he saw a disheveled mare, surrounded by demons.

"C'mon, tell us a lie…!" the demons pestered.

At first, the mare was reluctant, but then she gave in. Just as she finished, her tongue stretched out and in a flash, her tongue was cut away. Instantly, it grew back, but it got cut away again, over and over. Feeling feared out, Bloodthirst ran away.

As he walked on, he saw some more sufferings, ponies being thrown into a cauldron of boiling water, ponies being ripped off by weapons yielded by demons, and some are even hung upside down and beaten or burned. He even saw ponies thrown into flames and into a flaming pool of lava.

Feeling overwhelmed, Bloodthirst called, "Please, stop! Let them go! Please! I don't want to see all of those sufferings!"

But it was no use. None of the demons, nor the ponies could hear him. He could hear voices within his mind. "You have committed too many sins in the past. These are what you see and what you'll suffer! Be prepared to see your fate!"

Bloodthirst got more and more tensed every second and screamed with all his might. It was not until he felt somepony touching him and woke up with a start, panting and finding himself back in Platinum Royale's room.

"Bloodthirst! Are you okay?" Platinum asked, concerned after seeing him waking up with sweat and looking tensed. "You look like you've just woke up from a nightmare!"

"I… did! For the third time already!" he replied hysterically. "I've been dreaming this ever since you came home! I just don't know what to do…!" He fell into Platinum's hooves and wept.

"Easy there, young boy," comforted Platinum. "I'll try to talk to my friends about this. Perhaps they can give some advice."

"Are… you sure about that?"

"Trust me. You'll be fine. Oh, and you're supposed to meet Auntie Sweetie today, right?"

"Yeah…"

"Go and meet her later. Perhaps you'll be calm. I'm sure there's a way for your dilemma."


	2. Chapter 2

Later in the morning, Bloodthirst went out to find Sweetie Belle. Just as he was wondering where she would be, she was there, waiting at the park.

"Good timing, Bloodthirst," Sweetie began. "Now time for me to take you to somepony special."

The "somepony special" turned out to be the mayor, Diamond Tiara.

"Oh, so you're Bloodthirst?" Diamond Tiara asked him. "Sweetie Belle told me all about you."

"She did?"

"She talked to us yesterday afternoon," replied her secretary, Silver Spoon. "She told us on your misery, and how you wanted to change."

"So that's why you wanted to take me here?" he asked Sweetie.

"Yep. I told them about your background, and since you wanted to stay in Ponyville, they suggested you getting an identity card."

"Identity card…?"

"When you reach adulthood, you need an identity card to prove your citizenship and identity as an Equestrian pony," explained Diamond Tiara. "It'll make any Equestrian affair real smooth."

"Do I need documents for that? I have my personal documents back at my hometown…"

"Hmmm, if that's the case," Diamond continued. "Why don't you go back to your hometown first to collect your documents? We can manage a bit of procedures." She handed him over a form. "Here, fill this up. If you can't write, Sweetie Belle, can you help him?"

Shortly afterwards, as Bloodthirst was having his photography session, Sweetie Belle talked to the duo.

"I have to say, Sweetie Belle, I couldn't have gotten this position as the mayor of Ponyville without you and everypony's help," said Diamond Tiara.

"Oh, so you must have learnt your lesson on the time we voted Pipsqueak for class president?" asked Sweetie Belle.

"I have to admit," continued Diamond. "That pony from the opposition party was exactly the same as the old me." She paused for a moment, reminiscing their schooling days. "I wouldn't have been a better pony if it wasn't for you."

"But you know, there's something extra you and your friends gained!" added Silver Spoon.

"Yeah, our cutie marks. After all these years of struggle and endure, I can't believe we all have made this mark today."

"I have to be grateful to you," went on Diamond. "And again, I apologize for all the years we did to you."

"Me, too. I also feel ashamed on myself," said Silver Spoon.

"It's alright. We've all forgiven you," said Sweetie gracefully. "After all, who couldn't run Ponyville without you?"

Both of them giggled.

"What's important in all," said Diamond Tiara. "You have taught me a good lesson."

Later, Bloodthirst and Sweetie Belle left the town hall after finishing his photography session.

"How was it?" she asked to him.

"Err, fine, though I was rather dizzy from those flashes…"

"How about going back to Dodge Junction this weekend? You told me that you have your aunt living there right?"

"Yeah…"

"Well, when your parents died, your aunt must've been to your old house to retrieve all the documents! We can go there and ask them if they have it. Then it'll be useful to complete your registration!"

"That'll be nice," Bloodthirst agreed. "But I'm not sure if Platinum, or Rarity is free…"

"You can try to ask them," chuckled Sweetie. "Why don't I'll take you to the schoolhouse to meet the kids? School's almost over."

"Ah, alright then," he agreed. "I want to see Malinae as well."

They arrived at the schoolhouse to find Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, who were waiting for their children too.

"Apple Bloom and Scootaloo, here's Bloodthirst."

"Oh hey, nice to see you!" greeted Apple Bloom.

"So you're the one Sweetie Belle has been talking about! Fancy seeing you here!" said Scootaloo.

"Err, yes," he replied, rather shy. "Sweetie Belle told me all about her and you two, the Cutie, err…"

"Cutie Mark Crusaders," finished Apple Bloom. "Well, we help anypony in distress to find their own true talent!"

"Yeah, and that's what our cutie marks mean!" replied Scootaloo, and they all showed their cutie marks.

"Man, you three really are together," remarked Bloodthirst, surprised.

"We're known to cause some minor troubles and get bullied often," said Apple Bloom. "And we have to face the bullies."

"I know. Sweetie Belle told me all about that."

"Glad that you know some about us from our friend, young buddy," said Scootaloo, giving him a pat and winked at Sweetie Belle at the same time.

The school bell rang and the sound of cheering foals could be heard, then they came rushing out of the building.

"They all wanted to go home, that's why they rush out fast," Apple Bloom explained to Bloodthirst. "But there's some of them staying by playing at the playground."

"Why don't you go and meet with them?" asked Sweetie Belle. "You said you love kids. Look, there's Novella Fantasy and her friends!"

"Yes, I do," he replied, quite faltered. "But, I'm quite embarrassed…"

"Don't worry, we'll be accompanying you," said Scootaloo as they went to meet the kids.

Novella Fantasy was talking with the others when she spotted her mother, alongside Bloodthirst.

"Alright, everypony," called Novella. "I would like you all to meet the hero I admire well!"

"Who's that? Mom…?" said a light pink, red-haired, green-eyed earth filly.

"Bloodthirst? What are you doing here?" asked Malinae.

"Err, umm, *clears throat* I came here, because your mother wants you all to meet me," he said rather embarrassingly.

"Meet Bloodthirst, kids," introduced Sweetie Belle. "He's a nice vampire pony."

"Oh, Bloodthirst! Novella Fantasy told us all about you! I'm Sweet Potion," the pink filly introduced.

"Call me Sonic Flash!" a grayish-blue pegasus colt with brown mane said. "I wanna be a Wonderbolt, like Mom, Dad, Greenie Hats and Auntie Rainbow Dash!"

"Sonic Flash reminds of my old self," Scootaloo explained. "How I admired Rainbow Dash in the past."

"Oh, so the three blank flanks are here again?" A chrome yellow, white-haired earth pony colt called.

"Trying something new? Or talking to some stranger? What did your mommas tell ya?" Beside him was a light gray, maroon-haired earth pony colt, most likely his friend.

"He's no stranger! He's our guest!" argued Sonic.

"And my hero!" added Novella.

"Hero? Likely story! At least I expected a huge crowd here!" the chrome yellow colt replied.

"Now, what did you say?" Apple Bloom scolded them. "Can you learn how to respect a guest here?"

"Guest…?" the light gray colt responded.

"You better excuse them," Sweetie Belle told Bloodthirst. "They're Glittering Gold and Stainless Steel, sons of Diamond Tiara and Silver Spoon respectively!"

"Bullying foals under the name of the mayor? Disgrace to you!" Bloodthirst told them.

"We're sorry, Big Brother." The colts hung their heads, feeling quite ashamed.

"I guess, old traits are hereditary," said Apple Bloom.

"They'll eventually learn," chuckled Scootaloo.

"So you really are a vampire pony?" asked Sonic Flash as he flew up to muzzle level with Bloodthirst.

"I am, or else… wha-" Before he could finish, his mouth was opened by Sonic. He couldn't speak.

Sonic felt his mouth all over. When he reached his fangs, he tried to poke them into his hoof.

"Cool!" cried Sonic as he saw his hoof bleeding. "You really are a vampire pony after all!"

"Sonic! You…" gasped Scootaloo, shocked.

"Never mind," calmed Bloodthirst. "I get what he's trying to do. I don't inject venom into somepony unless threatened."

"Sonic can be a bit daring," explained Scootaloo. "Even I had to warn him not to be so rough in his Junior Wonderbolt meetings…"

"Sweet Potion! You've left your favorite pencil on your desk!" A light blue filly with purple, curly hair arrived. "Uh, who are you?" she noticed Bloodthirst.

"Oh, Candy Maker! Thanks! Meet Bloodthirst. He's a vampire pony!" introduced Sweet Potion.

"Yeah, he's the REAL thing!" added Sonic.

"And I mean no harm, my little friend," he smiled embarrassingly.

"Wow," she gasped. "You do sound innocent!"

"He needs to learn. Show him around," said Sweetie Belle.

Afternoon, at Sweet Apple Acres…

"So Bloodthirst has sleeping difficulties?" remarked Chaos Control after Platinum Royale told them all what happened. "And he's dreaming bad stuff?"

"This is strange, and scary at the same time!" added Beryl. "I don't think I can survive these nightmares."

"Well, well, who needs these nightmares when you've got party tricks here?" said Pepper Flake, interrupting their solemn mood.

"Pepper Flake, you know you can't say this while somepony is in trouble?" chided Melody Aurora. "Think about yourself if you had the same dream as his too!"

"I remember Mom told me a story she once had," recalled Greenie Hats. "She and all of her friends kept dreaming bad things all the while…"

"Yeah, she told me about that, too," said Fiji Appleoak. "Can't imagine her suffering like that though…"

"The Tantabus…" said Melody quickly. "Princess Luna told me about this before. She created it to punish herself for her bad deeds when she was Nightmare Moon. Can't believe that it went to invade Mom and everypony else's dream…"

"So yeah, imagine what happened if the Tantabus would continue to haunt us!" agreed Chaos.

"This is making me scary. Don't make me think of it now!" cried Pizza Frenzy.

"So do I!" added Peanut Butter, cuddling to his brother.

"Perhaps this will teach you a lesson in listening to too many ghost stories," said Fiji, rather annoyed.

"Now then, think, think, think, what can I do to help Bloodthirst with this?" pondered Melody.

"Melody, I remembered something," said Chaos. "Remember when your brother dreamt of your father after he tried protecting Princess Celestia, three years ago?"

"Oh, you're right!" she said brightly. "I remember this concept a long time ago: The dearest pony they ever wanted to meet will appear in somepony's dream!" But then she hung down for a moment. "But I don't think I've ever dreamt of my father all those years…"

"You don't have to be sad," cheered Beryl. "I'm sure, you'll meet your father one day, if you keep on believing."

"Thanks."

"You've given me the inspiration, Melody," said Platinum.

"What?"

"I think I should tell Bloodthirst what to do," she explained. "Perhaps this will help him overcome this misery he's having now."

"Are you sure you know what to tell him?" asked Greenie.

"She probably should know, after all," said Melody. "We're friends together for a long time and we got to know each other."

"And solving problems together all the time," finished Chaos. "Like our mothers did."

That evening, Bloodthirst returned home, rather late.

"You look really exhausted," said Platinum when she saw him. "What have you been doing?"

"Hanging out with the kids," he replied. "I have to say they played on me a lot."

"Foals are like that," giggled Prudence Aura. "But you'll be close once you get to know them well."

"There you are!" Rarity appeared. "There's something I would like to tell you, Bloodthirst."

"What is it?"

"We're going to Dodge Junction this Saturday," she explained. "You said you have your aunt there, right?"

"Yeah…"

"We're going back there to retrieve your personal documents so that you can have your own identity card! Sweetie Belle met me and talked to me all about it. She'll be accompanying us as well."

"This is terrific!" he said. "I think I'm able to meet my aunt again. It's been eight years…"

"You must be excited, don't you?" asked Platinum.

"Yes. After all, Sweet Clover really treasures me…"

"Well anyway, why don't you help me prepare dinner? My husband is returning from Manehattan tonight to spend time with us," invited Rarity.

"Your… husband?"

"He works full time at Manehattan, so everypony in Ponyville seldom gets to see him."

"But Dad still loves us," added Prudence as they went to help. "He never forgets to bring back goodies from Manehattan for us."

"Ah, loving father," he remarked.

Soon it was dinner, and Rarity's husband Elusive Streak joined the family.

"So, I heard you saved my daughter's life?" he asked upon meeting Bloodthirst.

"I did, Sir."

"He's here because he wants to learn everything about friendship, Daddy," added Platinum Royale.

"I see. An honor to know this."

"We're going back this weekend," Rarity told him. "We want to meet with his family, and to settle his registration."

"I see about that," he replied. "At least I need some break to release the working stress I had. It's been a while I've been to the countryside for some nice air."

"Oh yeah Bloodthirst," said Platinum Royale. "I have a solution to your problem."

"What is it?" he asked excitedly, holding onto her.

"Just meet me in my room after dinner," she reminded him.

At Platinum Royale's room, she told him on how Orion Galaxy dreamt of his father.

"So if you're dreaming those horrible things again, just try to think of your mother," she said. "I think it should work, especially for those who are in depression."

"Are you so sure about that?" he asked. "It only happened to her brother, but why not her yet?"

"It doesn't happen instantly, or it may depend on your luck. Trust me, I think this will help you," she winked at him.

Bloodthirst could only stay silent, feeling unsure.


	3. Chapter 3

Later that midnight…

Bloodthirst was on his mattress again. Platinum Royale was fast asleep.

Bloodthirst laid with his eyes still wide open. He didn't dare to sleep, fearing his nightmares would return again. But at the same time, he remembered Platinum's words earlier to him:

"So if you're dreaming those horrible things again, just try to think of your mother. I think it should work, especially for those who are in depression."

"Will that really work?" he wondered to himself. "This is only my first time doing this…"

More of his pondering eventually made him drift into his drowsiness.

Not long into his slumber his nightmares began again, he started at the same place, and he saw the same sufferings, ponies thrown into the huge cauldron of boiling water, thrown into lava, into a knife pit and body parts being ripped off. Again, he became tensed. The same voices rang in his head again.

"Join us… now! Your sufferings will end if you do so…"

"No! You're lying! I'm trying to give up my evil ways! I won't be easily deceived by you!" he wailed, burying his face in his hooves.

"Nonsense! This is the best way! Join now, and you'll be free…"

"Ugh, what do I do…!?" He then remembered Platinum Royale's words. "Where's my mother when I need her? Mom, MOOOOOOMMMYYYYY…!"

"I see that you have suffered enough, young colt."

A mare's voice boomed among the voices. Opening his eyes and looking up, Bloodthirst saw the moon glimmering, and the silhouette of an Alicorn mare was in sight, revealing herself to be no other than…

"You're… Princess Luna?"

"You must be Bloodthirst," she replied as she touched down. Using her magic, everything around them faded to white, then revealing a meadow full of flowers. "My sister's student Melody Aurora has written to us about you."

"Your sister, Princess Celestia…?" He was still surprised. He had learnt about Princesses Celestia and Luna in his childhood from his local school, and now he was wide-mouthed to meet her for real, face to face.

"I heard from you that you wanted to turn over a new leaf, and you have been suffering from these sightings in your dreams. That's why I came here to your aid," Luna explained.

"My… aid? How?"

"It is my duty as the Princess of the Night, to enter everypony's dreams, and to help those in need," she continued. "Since I have learnt of your situation, I have specially searched for the pony you wanted to meet the most, along with my sister…" She moved aside to reveal a tan brown earth mare, with blonde mane and tail and a marigold cutie mark.

"… Mom!" he blurted, his eyes beginning to water.

"Bloodthirst, my darling…" Marigold Scent began. "It's been eight years since we last saw…"

"I… I missed you!" He ran into his mother's embrace as he couldn't hold his feelings anymore. "I have a lot to tell you… How wish you were with me…!"

"Calm down, my boy," she said lovingly. "You're a handsome, young stallion now. Look at just how strong you've been!"

"Strong…? But I killed a lot, a lot of ponies…"

"It's okay, my boy. It wasn't entirely your fault. Your evil uncle's gone now, isn't he?"

"He is, thanks to Platinum Royale's friends…"

"Your new friends, eh? I bet they can teach you everything about friendship…"

"Friendship? How did you know all of that?"

"Bloodthirst, my darling son. Ever since I died, I've been watching you and all of your adventures. Yes, those ponies were rude, and your uncle used you, to gain back power and fame. But as far as me and your father know, this isn't the way…"

"Uh-huh…"

"But, on the day you wanted to change, we found something that was guiding to you, probably a spirit of change. It somehow led you to Ponyville, where you met Platinum Royale."

"I was scared… Lightning always wanted to strike me whenever I go… even I went to hiding in the Everfree Forest, though I know it wasn't quite safe in there…"

"Oh? You could've found Madam Zecora. I think she can care for you, too."

"Zecora? As in that zebra everypony else is talking?"

"She does go to Ponyville to buy ingredients for her magical potions, which can cure even the most mysterious incidents happening!"

"Amazing…"

"Now then, you must be going back to Dodge Junction this weekend, right? For the making of your identity card…"

"Yeah, and I'm kinda excited meeting Auntie Sweet Clover again…"

"I will be informing her about this. Is that okay with you?"

"If you insist…"

"A little while later I'll be taking her to your aunt's dream," Princess Luna interrupted. "We've talked to her, and she wants to give her sister a little surprise…"

"I think she misses you very much, as much as I do now…" continued Marigold.

"Err, what about… Dad?"

"He once told me that he wanted to see you, too. But, I think he'll come at a time when your day will be great…"

"When? What day?"

"You'll soon find out, Bloodthirst," replied Luna. "Right now, it's time for your mother to meet your aunt."

"If you need me again," she told him before she left. "Just think of me, and I'll be right beside you."

"I know, Mom. I… love you…"

"I love you, too, darling," Marigold replied as she hugged him. As everything around him faded to white, she said, "Till we meet again. I hope you'll enjoy nicely in Ponyville! Good luck…!"

"I will, I will!"

"Ugh! I'm… awake…?" Bloodthirst got up with a start. Looking around, he found himself back in Platinum's room again.

"Wow… it really did work!" he said to himself. "I feel much better! I'd better inform Platinum!"

Just as he got up and headed to the door, he heard a yelp.

"Platinum? Wait, are you hurt?" He immediately dashed downstairs.

As he arrived at the hallway, he found her sitting at the kitchen, holding her hoof. She had apparently cut herself while preparing breakfast.

"Oh, goodness, my hoof! How am I supposed to help Mom later…!?" she moaned as blood flew out of her wound. Feeling somepony touching her shoulder, she turned around and gasped to see Bloodthirst. "Oh, dear," she thought to herself. "Is he going to drain my blood away? I'm worried that his vampire instincts will come back…"

"Cut yourself?" he asked. "Let me fix that."

Platinum stared at him, with eyes of fear.

"Don't worry, I'm not going to kill you."

Seeing her still frozen, he gently took her hoof and placed it into his mouth, while Platinum fearfully shut her eyes. Then suddenly, she no longer felt any pain. She opened her eyes to find out that…

… the cut on her hoof was completely healed!

"You… have… healing powers?" she asked, feeling her recovered part over.

"It's always our ability, to those who can control their instincts well," he explained.

"Has your clan been doing this as well?"

"Apparently, well, we did help out on those previous wars in history."

"By the way," she asked. "You look better right now. Did you dream something good?"

"I did. Thanks to your advice, I met my mom, and… I've seen Princess Luna…"

"Did your mother give you good advice?"

"Yeah… she told me she would be by my side, whenever I need help…"

"There. Told you. She really would come and help you. Now, speaking about Princess Luna, do you know that she's like you?"

"Like me? How?"

"She used to be jealous to see ponies active and lively in the day but sleep at night. So one day she turned into Nightmare Moon and was banished for a thousand years. When she returned and was reformed by Mom, Princess Twilight and their friends, she then tried to turn over a new leaf."

"I've learnt about that…"

"And take Mayor Diamond Tiara as another example. She used to be a bully to Auntie Sweetie and her friends. When they gave her good advice, she changed and became friends with them now!"

"Ah, I see…"

"See? There are many others who are trying to make a change and benefit to the pony society. They just need a bit of friendship advice, then they will learn to make new friends."

"By the way…"

"Yes?"

"We're going to Dodge Junction tomorrow, right? Mom tells me that she's seeing Auntie Sweet Clover in her dream, to tell her that I'm coming."

"Oh, great! She must be very excited to meet you, too!"

"I hope so. It's been eight years since I last saw her…"


	4. Chapter 4

Saturday came, and Rarity and Sweetie Belle's families gathered at the train station.

"There you guys go," said Elusive Streak, handing them each a ticket. "I managed to get them yesterday, they were nearly sold out like hot cakes!"

"What a quick move, Sir!" praised Sweetie Belle. "Imagine how hurry we would've been if we're buying them now!"

"Indeed I cannot think of that," agreed Rarity. "What a wise decision you did to avoid confusion and chaos!"

"Now then, Bloodthirst," Sweetie Belle turned to him. "Still feeling nervous yet?"

"Uh, um, well…" he stammered, still couldn't control his feelings.

"Why so nervous? You have me and everypony by your side!" cheered Novella Fantasy.

"Me too! Me too!" added her sister Sonatina.

"I think he needs a piece of his mind. It's been eight years since he left his dear aunt in his old home," said Platinum Royale as she led him to another corner.

"Thanks for being with me," he told her. "I wish I was a unicorn, so that I can get there quick by magic…"

"Oh, you're thinking too much, dear. Don't panic, the train is arriving soon!" she calmed him.

A few minutes later the train arrived.

"Present your tickets, please!" the conductor ordered as everyone boarded.

Along the way, the children played, with Prudence Aura entertaining them while Rarity, Elusive and Sweetie Belle had their adult's talk. Bloodthirst sat by the window looking at the scenery, with Platinum beside him. He closed his eyes, remembering the day he was forced to escape…

"Auntie Sweet Clover! I'm home!" a colt Bloodthirst shrilled excitedly at the door of his aunt's house after returning from school.

He found her on the couch. She was a white earth mare with orange mane and tail, and a clover as her cutie mark. She would be standing at the door waiting for him, but today, she looked glum.

"Auntie Sweet Clover?" he asked. "Is something wrong with you?"

"Bloodthirst," she began, in a rather sad tone. "I have to tell you something…"

"What is it?"

"Leave… this house," she finished, with tears forming in her eyes.

"Leave? Why?" He was confused.

"Bloodthirst, listen to me. A mysterious-looking pony looked for me last night and claims himself to be your uncle…"

"My… UNCLE?! Wait, wasn't he supposed to be… dead, with my parents?"

"He told me that he wanted to take you along, and if we didn't, he'd sworn to kill all of us. This isn't the first time. He has already haunted me for a few nights before this. I don't trust him if I would hand you over to him. He would've taught you bad ways, and as far as me and my mother know, he hates vampire ponies being with normal ponies…"

"No… no way! I can't believe it!"

"Bloodthirst, let me tell you something. Everypony in this entire family loves you. That's why, your parents would die to protect you." She went and hugged him in tears. "Even I don't want to lose you, and we could've died together…"

"…"

"Now, leave this home, quick before your uncle kills me and everyone in this house!"

"Wh-where do I go, and when do I come back?"

"Anywhere, but I am not sure when, but if you really are free from danger, make your way back home…!"

Bloodthirst could only stare at his aunt.

"Quick, escape now! Don't get ourselves haunted by him again!"

"Al-alright…!" He replied, and turned and galloped away, turning his head back for every few moments. He could only see his beloved aunt in tears, not willing to see him leave. But this fate was inevitable.

"Goodbye…" she whispered as she watched him disappear to nowhere in the sunset.

The flashback ended, and Bloodthirst was in his seat, dozing off with tears flowing from his eyes.

"Bloodthirst? Are you fine?" Platinum Royale woke him up. "It looks like you're crying. What happened to you?" She wiped his tears away.

"It's just… well… remembering the day I left home…" he sighed, with his eyes beginning to water again. Platinum cuddled him.

"I don't think you're the only one thinking this. Your aunt must be thinking the same way, too," she replied.

Bloodthirst nodded without a word.

The journey went on for another hour. Soon the announcement spoke that they have arrived at Dodge Junction.

"Alright, Bloodthirst," said Sweetie Belle once everypony was on the platform. "Take us to where your aunt's house is."

"I'll see if I can find the way," he replied. "Dodge Junction has changed a lot since the past eight years, so I'm not sure if the road to her home is the same or not, and I don't know if she's moved out or not!"

"At least, we'll try," encouraged Platinum. "If we can't we'll ask the local mayor for help!"

"Alright, let's go!" said Rarity.

For the next few minutes, they walked down the streets, hoping to find a clue. However, time after time, they passed many houses and ponies, but there was no sign of discovery from Bloodthirst.

"Darn it! Everywhere's changed!" Bloodthirst said at last. "There's little chance we might find Auntie Sweet Clover now!"

"Don't panic," calmed Elusive. "As my daughter says, we should look for the town mayor for help. I'm gonna ask for directions now."

"You must be lost." A crimson-haired, light yellow mare with cherries as her cutie mark called them. "I am the mayor of Dodge Junction. Do you need any help?"

"Speak of the devil!" blurted Prudence.

"Goodness, Cherry Jubilee! Is that you?" asked Rarity, surprised.

Cheery Jubilee looked at her. "You must be one of Applejack's friends? Ah, yes, I remember you now!"

"Auntie Rarity, do you know her?" Novella asked.

"Well, yes I do! I first met her when we were looking for Applejack after she lost in an Equestria Rodeo long time ago. She's got a huge cherry farm!"

"These are your kids?" asked Cherry.

"Yes, she's my eldest daughter, and my youngest daughter, my sister, and my nieces!"

"Now back to the subject: What brings you all here?"

"Errm, well, we were helping this stallion to look for his family," replied Platinum. "He has left this place for eight years, and everything has changed."

"Who are you looking for, young stallion?"

"Do you by any chance know Sweet Clover?" asked Bloodthirst. "She's my aunt…"

"Sweet Clover? Oh, yes! I know her well! She sometimes comes to my farm to buy my cherry products. Now wait, you're her nephew? She sometimes talks to me about you…"

"You do!?" he asked excitedly.

"Why, yes! I've been to her house before. I remember once when she looked sad, and when I asked her, she told me that she was missing her dear nephew dearly, so I think it must be you."

"Then can you take us to her house?" asked Sweetie Belle. "He hasn't been seeing his aunt for eight years, because he was forced to run away from his evil, menacing uncle. Now he misses her dearly."

"Eight years already? Oh, I've heard about that news before! A few months before this, there were ponies talking about a strange pony attacking a family, who eventually sacrificed themselves to save their son. Then, there was this news of a colt who mysteriously disappeared from the town, because he failed to show up at his school for several days! When it turned out to be the colt whose his parents had sacrificed themselves, Sweet Clover was interviewed, and she told them that his supposedly dead uncle was haunting them, and he was told to escape. Many expressed sympathy, and some vowed to kill him. Others thought she was mad by simply abandoning her kid. How saddening this is… It has been on the talk for many weeks!"

Bloodthirst listened, still feeling sad about his departure eight years ago.

"Now then, you're Bloodthirst, aren't you?"

"Err, yeah."

"Come with me. I was only doing my stroll, and I didn't think you would turn up to me suddenly. I think she'll be happy to see you at last!"

"I think that was lucky!" whispered Prudence to Platinum.

The group followed Cherry Jubilee until they came to a mid-sized, sturdy house.

"It certainly hasn't changed a lot," said Bloodthirst, looking at it. "Despite a few repaints made at the walls."

"Go on, be a man," Rarity whispered. "Let her know you're back, after missing for so many years."

Bloodthirst paused for a moment. "Alright," he said at last. Taking a deep breath, he rang the doorbell.

"Coming!" The voice of a foal sounded from inside. Everyone held their breaths as they went to hide at the sides.

The door opened to reveal a light peach-colored, green haired filly, who stared at her stranger.

"Err, who are you looking for?" enquired the filly.

"Err, umm, well," he stammered out of nervousness. "I'm… just… looking, err, for…"

"Yes, Sweetie Peach, who's at the door…?" A familiar voice to Bloodthirst called, and there, an orange-haired white earth mare appeared, and her jaw dropped as both of them stared at each other.

"Bloodthirst…" she called softly. "Is that… you?"

"It's me, Auntie Sweet Clover," he replied. "I'm back."

Both of them charged against each other, bursting out into tears as they both hugged.

"I… I knew it was you…!" cried Sweet Clover.

"I have a lot to tell you," replied Bloodthirst. "Everything!"

The filly looked on, confused. "Mom, who is he?"

"Sweetie Peach, meet your cousin," she whispered to her. Then, as she turned around, she saw Rarity and Sweetie Belle's families peeking inside.

"You must be his caretakers?" she asked them, getting up.

"Technically, we are," answered Sweetie Belle. "He came to us in a poor condition, and we offered help."

"If you ask him, he saved my daughter," added Rarity.

"Is that so? Come in, come in, all of you. We can all talk what happened. I'm just excited seeing my nephew back."

"You sure do," chuckled Prudence Aura.

Once inside, everypony told Sweet Clover on their encounter with Bloodthirst, and what he has been recently suffering.

"So you all put an end to his uncle's evil ways?" she asked them.

"You should thank Princess Melody Aurora and Chaos Control if you're visiting Ponyville. They helped him to defeat him!" explained Prudence Aura. "I've seen everything, through my very eyes!"

"He told us that he wanted to leave for his hometown, but me and my friends feel that it's better for him to stay here and learn more about friendship," added Rarity.

"On second thoughts, I feel that it's better for them to take care of me," said Bloodthirst. "I feel like, I just want to learn more there. Everypony there seems friendly."

"You know what, Auntie? He saved me and my pet squirrel from meanie bullies! He's my hero!" chirped in Novella.

"My goodness! Looks like you've got a little idol!" Sweet Clover told Bloodthirst.

"I saw her in trouble, so I came myself over to help," explained Bloodthirst. "But, to be frank, I have a passion for foals. They look innocent."

"I'm glad you say so," she said to him. "Why don't you try talk to Sweetie Peach? She's a cute, sweet pea."

At that moment Sweetie Peach appeared, with a piece of paper in her mouth.

"I drew a picture for you!" she shrilled, showing him a drawing of a barn and a vast farm. "Do you like it?"

"Err, it's… nice…?"

"Yay, thanks! You're my best cousin!" She kissed him on the cheek. He could only blush.

"Peachy Sweet is always the bright one in the house," chucked Sweet Clover. "Anypony in the neighborhood rings my bell, she's the one who checks that out."

"But what if it's somepony dangerous?" asked Elusive.

"Oh, she's got a sixth sense! She knows when to open the door and when not to! Then I would come over to check out!"

It reminded Rarity of Pinkie Pie's "Pinkie Sense".

"Hey Peachy!" called Sweetie Belle. "Why don't you meet some new friends?" She signaled to Novella and Sonatina. "Go on, talk to her."

"New friends?" she squealed excitedly.

"Let's have a bit of introduction among ourselves, shall we?" asked Novella.

"In your room, sweetie!" Sweet Clover called. "These are your kids?" She turned to Sweetie Belle.

"Yep. They are always close to each other. Novella Fantasy is eager to find her true talent and her cutie mark, like how I used to long ago!"

"She and two other friends form the Cutie Mark Crusaders, and have famously created a little mischief while searching for their cutie marks!" explained Rarity.

"Oh, I see about that! Maybe one day Peachy dear would be eager to search one, too!"

"She sure will!" chucked Platinum, and everyone laughed.

Later, as Cherry Jubilee took Elusive, Platinum, Prudence and Bloodthirst for a tour around Dodge Junction, Sweet Clover brought Rarity to her room, and handed her over Bloodthirst's personal documents.

"There you go. I got word from Miss Cherry Jubilee that Bloodthirst wanted to make his identity card. After his parents died, I went to their house and personally went to collect everything important from there. I was supposed to save up for everything until it was time for him to have an identity card, but, I know, I can't escape that fate…" She hung low, feeling depressed.

"Relax, that's over now," cheered Rarity. "Bloodthirst has matured, and he knows what to do now."

"Thanks for the encouragement," replied Sweet Clover. "You don't mind him living with you?"

"Certainly not. He came to Ponyville for refuge, and the next thing you know, everything that's happening now is amazing."

Later that evening, as the others returned from their tour, a yellow, olive-green haired stallion was at the door. He was wearing working overalls.

"I'm home!" he called, and as he looked upon his guests, he asked. "Who are they?"

"Daddy!" Sweetie Peach chirped, jumping into his hooves. "Mom's got new friends visiting!"

"Is it?" he asked, as he saw Bloodthirst in front of him.

"Err, hi, Unc," he greeted embarrassingly.

"Who are you?" he asked, bewildered.

"Oh, Olive Harvest, you're back. Meet Bloodthirst. He's my long lost nephew!" Sweet Clover appeared.

"Oh, so you're Bloodthirst, the colt my wife was talking about!" said Olive. "She used to talk to me about you before we were married."

"Really?"

"There's a lot more we can talk about. Why don't we prepare for the campfire?"

"A campfire?" asked Platinum.

"Every Saturday, we always hold a family campfire," Sweet Clover explained. "This is to celebrate the end of a working week."

"Nice idea," agreed Elusive Streak. "It's been a while I had barbecue!"

A little while later the families lit the fire outside their home. Sweet Clover's mother was there, narrating old time stories as they barbequed.

"Excuse me, Mom," interrupted Sweet Clover all of a sudden. "Can me and my nephew have a little moment?"

"Hmmm, if you insist, Sweet Clover. It's been darn long since you've been with him. I know that."

"Thanks, Grandma."

Sweet Clover led him to an open area in the farm, and they both laid down.

"It's been a while we've been stargazing," began Sweet Clover.

"First time in eight years…?"

"Back when you stargazed with your mother, didn't you?"

"Yeah, kinda."

"You got a lot of childhood memories that you can't remember some, don't you?"

"I guess… I missed a lot. I miss all the delicious food here, the peaceful countryside, and the nice ponies here."

"Speaking of your mother…"

"You dreamt her, too?"

"How did you know about that?"

"When I dreamt of my mother, Princess Luna was with her, too. They told me that they would go looking for you…"

"Well, she told me that I would be coming over for the weekend, of course I was overjoyed. We talked on what have we lost in all those years…"

"Must've been a lot?"

"Indeed. Now I want to ask you: How's life in Ponyville? You told me that everypony there's friendly."

"Especially Platinum Royale's friends. One of them is a princess."

"A princess? That's an honor! She must be the daughter of Princess Twilight Sparkle, right?"

"How did you know?"

"I always knew that a princess is ruling Ponyville under the title 'the Princess of Friendship', and I got word from Madam Rarity that she's got two children."

"Err, yeah. She told me that her son is at Canterlot. Besides, Melody Aurora told me, how she stood strong, without a father…"

"Now, you see, there are more others who are almost like you, with one parent surviving or both dead. Depending on their choice, they may choose to live on or be in depression. Only the smartest ones know how to live on…"

Bloodthirst listened, full of thought.

"Auntie Sweet Clover, all through these years I've gone, I missed you deeply. I've been thinking about you, all the time when I had nopony to talk to…"

"I missed you, too. I'm deeply sorry for not saying goodbye to you in time. Ever since you left everypony in Dodge Junction has been talking about you. Some of them said they wanted to kill your uncle. Before I was married my husband would visit me, and when he saw your photos, and when I told him about you, he was sympathetic. He told me that he would've taken you as his own son if you were still here."

"Have you told Sweetie Peach about this?"

"I sometimes tell her, 'You've got a big cousin who's away.' Whenever I look at her, she always reminds me of a filly you…" She quietly shed tears.

Bloodthirst brought her into his arms and hugged. For the first time in eight years, both had felt the warmth of love and family reunion coming into them. It was as if fate had reversed, allowing them to meet again.

It was afternoon the next day, and it was time for Bloodthirst and everyone to head home.

"Thank you for visiting us, and bringing him back safely," said Sweet Clover. "I hope you'll continue to teach him good ways."

"We will, Sweet Clover. Don't worry," replied Rarity.

"As long as he's in safe hooves," added Sweetie Belle.

"It's a nice pleasure meeting you all," said Elusive Streak.

"No problem," replied Olive Harvest.

"We'll come back to see you all again someday!" said Platinum Royale.

"Do come back! Do come back!" said Sweetie Peach.

"I'm going to miss you again, Auntie Sweet Clover," Bloodthirst approached her.

"Me, too, darling," she replied, hugging him. "Good luck in making new friends. Do come back whenever you can."

"Cousin Bloodthirst! Cousin Bloodthirst!" Sweetie Peach called. "Take this!" She gave him her drawing.

"Your… drawing… Should I take it?"

"Take it," encouraged Prudence Aura. "She loves you though."

Taking the drawing from her, she hugged his hooves. "I love you!"

"Thanks, kid," he said. "I will treasure it." He turned to the group. "It's time to go."

"Right!" pipped in Novella Fantasy.

As she watched the train leave, Sweet Clover had tears in her eyes, feeling glad to see her nephew matured…


	5. Chapter 5

_This chapter takes place one week after the events in Chapter 47 of_ The Inheritors of Friendship _._

"Whoa…" gasped Bloodthirst as he looked around the library. "So… huge. Like it would take me a day to walk this entire place!"

"It's a castle library, what do you expect?" Melody Aurora grinned at him. "Basically you can find the same book from bookstores whenever library you go!" She said as she arranged a row of books using magic.

"I've always wanted to visit a library, I just wanted to read, and I don't know why, and Platinum Royale suggested me to visit yours!"

"Oh," chuckled Melody. "You are so modest. But let me tell you, there used to be a library named the Golden Oak Library. That's where my mom stayed when she first came to Ponyville!"

"Oh! Where is it?"

"Unfortunately," sighed Spike who was entering with a stack of books. "Twilight had a battle with Lord Tirek who wanted to conquer all of Equestria, and the library was destroyed in the process."

"That's sad."

"What you see above the throne room," continued Melody. "Is the roots that belong to the library. Mom's friends helped to decorate it."

"Wasn't that the crystal-sparkling thing hanging which I saw just now?"

"Yep, uh-oh…" Spike gasped as he was about to sneeze from the dust from the books. Just as he said "Atchoo", Melody immediately casted a barrier upon the books, saving them from his dragon fire breath.

"Phew!" She breathed a sigh of relief. "Saved me several hundred bits!"

"Has he been sneezing and destroying the books by accident?" asked Bloodthirst.

"Once in a while," sniggered Spike. "Actually I did burn off some books by accident before…"

"And what did Mom do to you?" asked Melody.

"Err, well, just, punishments, like, hard work and no pay, well, kinda, err, awkward, heh-heh," he giggled in embarrassment. "But yeah, I seldom do that nowadays, and just now, well, I got carried away."

"It's okay, Spike, everyone makes mistakes," smiled Melody. "It shall be a lesson to be learnt and after this it'll never happen again."

"True to that," agreed Bloodthirst. "Well, how did you get to have so many books?"

"Mostly donated from Canterlot," Melody replied. "Sometimes we make trips to the Royal Sisters' Old Castle in the Everfree Forest to get back some, for hardcore historians. A few days ago we managed to gather some more books from there!"

"An old castle in the forest? That should be thrilling."

"Speak about the books from Canterlot, my brother helped to donate them, and oh, talking about Orion Galaxy, he happens to be visiting tomorrow!"

"Oh wow! I could probably talk to him again! I hardly talked to him during our Canterlot visit."

"You sure can. He loves everypony," said Twilight Sparkle who just entered. "When he and Melody returned five years after they stayed to learn with Princess Celestia, he told me he wanted to be a royal guard, protecting anypony he loved."

"Even his friends, too?"

"Even Thunder Clash idolized him! You remember that female strange-looking royal guard Honey Drops? She was his childhood sweetheart to him. They're now dating for three years already, you know that?" asked Melody.

"Oh, so when are they going to marry?"

"You can ask him, maybe he knows," said Twilight. "He's coming tomorrow, he usually comes on weekends to visit us."

The next day, Bloodthirst got himself groomed.

"In a hurry, darling?" asked Rarity to him.

"Not quite, I'm going back to Melody's castle again. I'm going to meet her brother today."

"Oh, Prince Orion! Everyone says he's a pure gentlecolt. He's got good manners, so maybe you can talk well to him."

"Would you mind if they asked me for a sleepover and they asked me in?"

"Why, certainly! You might spend the night reading all of her books, who knows?"

Bloodthirst walked all the way to the Castle of Friendship. He opened the main door and trotted into the hallway when Melody ran up to him, looking anxious.

"Bloodthirst! Thank goodness you're here!"

"What just happened?" he asked.

"We woke up with a start to see all of our books lying everywhere! I dunno what happened, some culprit might have sneaked into the library in the middle of the night, then read these books and left them at where they were!"

"Take me to the situation!"

They entered the library, and Bloodthirst stared wide-eyed at the mess, the books lying everywhere. Twilight and Spike were clearing everything.

"Has it been happening like this all the while?" he asked.

"Not always. Whenever we move in books from the Castle of the Sisters, this place would go all messy in a few days! We have interrogated all the ponies in Ponyville, but none have sneaked into the library into the middle of the night to read the books! Besides, I always close the library before midnight," explained Twilight.

"I'll try to give a hoof. I can't stand to see you three working alone," Bloodthirst offered.

"Good… help me!" called Spike, lifting up a stack of books.

The four worked well for a few minutes. Then, the door opened, and Orion Galaxy entered.

"Hey you all. I'm here!"

"Oh, hey…" As Spike was placing back a book, he didn't notice a stack of books beside him and bumped slightly onto it. The tower of books wobbled.

To make matters worse, they were right next to Orion. The books began to collapse, and Orion only stared at it wide-eyed.

But Bloodthirst, who had seen everything, dashed across swiftly and pushed him away, taking the blow from the collapsing books by himself.

"Bloodthirst!" Twilight and Melody, who had been lining up the books had heard the noise, came to the scene.

"Bloodthirst! Are you all right?" Melody asked.

"I'm… okay…" he moaned, crawling out of the heap. "At least… he didn't get hurt…"

"You saved me," gasped Orion, helping him out of the books. "For a vampire pony like you, you're pretty swift to save a damsel in distress. Maybe you could've survived that collapse if you flied."

"But, it looks like, I can't fly…" he said sadly, spreading out his bat wings.

"Aww man," sympathized Orion.

"My father was supposed to teach me how to fly, but he already died before he could… *sigh*"

"Cheer up, young lad," said Melody. "I can introduce you to Greenie Hats and her family. They'll be glad to teach you how to fly."

"They're part of the Wonderbolts, they know all sorts of flying techniques," added Twilight.

"That's nice to hear it," he beamed. "But first why don't we clear up the remaining mess?"

"Oh, yeah, you got the point. Back to work!" murmured Spike.

Soon the friends gathered at Sugarcube Corner.

"Messed up again? That's ridiculous!" remarked Pepper Flake after hearing their story.

"Are you gonna ask everyone again?" asked Fiji Appleoak.

"Err, no way we're gonna do it," replied Melody. "Even if we ask everypony again, it'll be the same result."

"Everypony follows the rules here nicely, darling. What can we expect more?" asked Beryl.

"Are we gonna be up all night just to see who's behind all that?" asked Greenie Hats. "No offense, Melody, but maybe Spike might be behind this."

"We asked him before," said Melody. "And it turned out that he didn't know a thing about it!"

"Even if Spike did it," added Orion. "He would've been tired out because someone getting up to do something in the middle of the night would usually sleep late."

"Spike was perfectly fine when we asked him. Besides, he would have developed black rings around his eyes if he stayed up late."

"Hmmm, no other one else, so who did it?" Raisin Brandy pondered.

"I think we'll have to do this," said Melody at last. "I'm going to stay up all night to see who's the culprit!"

"Up all night? Are we going to do this with you!?" exclaimed Pizza Frenzy.

"No way we're gonna do this with you. I got orchard duties to do!" remarked Fiji.

"I'll do it," said Bloodthirst who had been silent throughout the entire conversation. "I'm having a sleepover with Melody tonight anyway. Besides, what do you expect from a vampire pony?"

"That's nice to hear it!" beamed Melody. "I'll be telling you what to do later on."

"Show me what you can do, darling," Platinum told him. "I'll be waiting on your return."

"Good luck on your operation tonight, buddy," said Chaos Control.

"Thanks, guys."

As the group dispersed and he began to leave, Greenie Hats went up to him.

"So Melody tells me that you need some flight lessons, huh?" she said to him.

"Uh, yeah?"

"I'll talk to my mom about this first, then we can arrange the time."

"Thanks, Greenie. I'll be eager to learn how to fly."

"Good luck on that!" she wished him.


	6. Chapter 6

Later that evening, Bloodthirst was tucked in for the night. Right after dinner he was arranged to sleep with Orion Galaxy.

"I hope you won't mind being here, since sometimes Melody Aurora can be strict on her own privacy," Twilight Sparkle told him. She had arranged a mattress complete with a pillow and a blanket, and placed it beside Orion's bed.

"I won't," replied Bloodthirst. "As long as I feel comfortable with Orion."

"Well then, good luck, you two. I'll be calling you both by midnight!" ended Twilight as she closed the door.

"So is this your first time staying here?" Orion asked him.

"I… think so. I've never been to a sleepover or a slumber party before, I actually wanted to get a taste of myself."

"Pepper Flake and her family sometimes throw slumber parties. You can actually go join with us. We're usually all invited."

"Well, I'll try." He suddenly remembered about what Melody and her mother told him about Orion. He hardly asked him while they were gathering at Sugarcube Corner. "Err, can I ask a question?"

"What is it? I'd love to answer my subjects' questions, especially when they get to know me," Orion smiled.

"Is your life hard, as a royal guard?"

"Well, definitely. You know, getting up early, physical exercise, marching practice, and be on guard at one station. It's kinda like being in military. But thanks to Princess Celestia, I can get to visit my family and friends often. You can go visit my uncle Shining Armor and Auntie Cadance in the Crystal Empire. They've kept my late father's journal, detailing his royal guard life."

"Do you miss your father?"

"I do, and everypony does. I would think of my father every day, and I even wished he was on my side. Everypony agreed that what he did was heroic, even if it means giving up his life to save his family, though there are some who don't really like him."

"Are you good with your sister?"

"Definitely, yes! I love her well. She hails me as her BBBFF, her Big Brother Best Friend Forever. That's what my mom used to refer to Uncle Shining Armor."

"I was wondering, how is your relationship with umm, Honey Drops?"

"Yeah, it's been going well," he chuckled. "You have to know, I know her since I was a baby. Mom would definitely take me out to meet her friends and also their children. That's when I came to know Honey Drops. She was by dearest and best friend at that time. She enrolled herself to be a royal guard three years ago, and after one incident which threatened the princesses, I confessed my love to her. I just wanted to make a proposal to her, my dear sweetheart…"

"Wow…"

"Which reminds me, my sister wrote to me about you and Platinum Royale. Are you going well with her?"

"She's a caring pony. She knows what my troubles were, and she would help me," he blushed.

"Well, that's just the beginning," smiled Orion. "It'll take a long time until your relationship has blossomed. You'll meet hardships along the way, but don't worry, everything will turn out well in the end. That's what Auntie Cadance told me. When the right time comes, confess your love to her."

"I'll try, but right now, it seems too early for me."

"That's a good stallion."

The stallions talked until midnight, when Twilight called to them.

"Alright boys," she whispered to them. "It's time we get to the library to find the culprit behind the mess! Keep your steps quiet."

Using her lit horn as a torch, Twilight led the group down through the stairs and all the way to the library. Twilight opened the library door. It was deafening silent.

"No noise," reminded Melody. "We don't want to disturb the culprit."

"Right," said Orion.

"Got it," followed Bloodthirst.

The group immediately separated and patrolled silently. For thirty minutes, there was nothing unusual. Twilight and her children had their horns dimly-lit to prevent themselves from being busted.

Melody and Orion had just navigated through a bookshelf when they heard the sound of a book being thrown.

"Did you hear that?" Melody asked him.

"Yeah, we should get over there to see what's going on," agreed Orion.

Both brother and sister crept quietly behind the bookshelves where the noise came from, and Melody nearly screamed out of shock…

… to find a spirit resembling a young unicorn mare taking out a book and read it, then threw it aside as she found it dull, then took out another one, and threw it, again and again.

"So that must be the culprit!" she whispered.

"Pretty amazed that she can appear and read them," said Orion. "Though it's not Nightmare Night. Time to give her some surprise."

Marching forward, Orion shouted,

"What do you think you're doing?!"

"Dah!" the ghost screamed at the sight of two Alicorn ponies, and both of them gave chase.

"Kids! What's going on!?" Twilight called as she heard their hoofsteps. She immediately went to their direction, only to encounter face to face with the ghost, who just came out of the bookshelf.

"So you're the culprit! Get back here!" snarled Twilight. The ghost quickly went into another bookshelf, and met Spike who was hurrying over to Twilight. He tried to grab her, but she simply went into another bookshelf, causing him to bang onto it.

"Catch me if you can…!" the ghost giggled.

Bloodthirst had been patrolling around the corner when he heard their shouts. He quickly galloped to where they are. He encountered face to face with the ghost.

"Just where do you think you're going!?" he growled at her.

Seeing his red eyes, his sharp fangs and his bat wings, the ghost froze with horror, for meeting an extraordinary pony. She turned to run away, but as she tried to move, she felt herself frozen.

"Got you at last!" Twilight and everyone else managed to catch up and used magic to prevent the ghost from moving.

"P-please, don't bust me, don't vanish me," pleaded the ghost. "I-I can explain, I won't run away…"

"Are you sure?" demanded Orion.

"We'll question her properly," suggested Bloodthirst. "I saw her scared after seeing me. So maybe some questioning will learn some truth."

The group led her to the reading area.

"What's your name?" asked Twilight.

"Um, I'm… Silent… Reader, you can just call me Silent," replied the ghost.

"So tell us, Silent, why are you sneaking into our library in the middle of the night and left the books lying around?" inquired Melody.

"Well, you have to know, I lived around one thousand years ago, which was before Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon."

"One thousand years ago?" asked Spike, rather surprised.

"I liked reading when I was a filly, and I loved to frequent the bookshops and libraries at that time. I got word that the castle library has many of the most stunning books that I wanted to read. I tried to get in all the while but there was no way I could get in, because all the while I thought only high-class ponies could enter…"

"So how did you get in?" asked Twilight.

"One night," Silent Reader resumed. "I suddenly found out a way to the library. I saw some places where I can climb easily, and I was able to hop into the nearest window. It was closed, and nopony was in there. I was able to explore the whole place quietly and when I found a book, I set it down to read. It was thick, but I was determined to finish it up, so I read and read and I didn't realize that I fell asleep.

"The next thing I opened my eyes, I saw Princess Celestia in front of me. I jumped in horror, because I was afraid that I would be sent out of the library, but she didn't… she just smiled, and told me that since I loved reading, I would be welcome to read them. So I did, and almost every week I would visit the library, and read her books. But, you know, sometimes I would be so into reading that I would forget to return the books back to the bookshelf."

"So that's how you had that habit…?" Spike asked, with an annoyed face.

"Uh, yeah," she giggled in her ghostly voice. "But little did I know, because of my long-time reading, and reading up to midnight, I began to fall ill often, and on that day, I was reading my book as usual, despite my illness, when suddenly, I felt drowsy, so I snooze on the book, and then… I never woke up."

"You died… just like that?" asked Bloodthirst.

"It was a quiet death. Peaceful but sad, isn't it?" she said miserably. "But still, I would revisit the place, only at night time, because nopony's there, and I can read them. But sometimes, there are some which I found boring or those I've read a lot already, and I would leave them, and by the time daylight comes and I've returned to my own grave, I suddenly realized that I hadn't even returned the books! Even when Nightmare Moon was banished to the moon, and Princess Celestia relocated herself to Canterlot, I would still haunt the abandoned place, and read the books there…

"But then, these years I notice that some of the books are missing, and I found out that they've been relocated here. So I would go here and continue reading the books, even the new ones I never see them before! But still, there are some I found that I read them a lot already, and some boring…"

"So does that explain the mess you made in my library?" asked Melody.

"Yes, I did," she replied. "Now that I told you everything, what can I do to express my, um… apologies?" She looked at them with teary eyes.

"You have told us the truth, that is the good thing," replied Twilight. "From now on, you shall be the night guard of this library!"

"Really, really!?" cried Silent Reader, shaking Twilight from the shoulders.

"Well, this is something I'm giving you so that you can read the books here as long as you want!"

"Thank you, thank you…!" Silent Reader hugged Twilight.

"One condition: You must remember to put back the books from where they are taken. This is a role example for a library caretaker," Twilight told her.

"I will, I will!" said the ghost. "Thank you for understanding me. You guys actually made up my night. I've never felt sooo lively in one thousand years! See you guys later!"

The ghost vanished completely.

"Phew!" yawned Spike. "That was one mystery solved!" He fell to the floor and slept, much to everyone's amusement.

The next day, Bloodthirst joined everyone in seeing Orion off to Canterlot.

"That was one fun adventure we had," Melody told him.

"Yeah, it couldn't have been more thrilling," he replied.

"Help send my regards to Princess Celestia," Bloodthirst said.

"I will, young man," said Orion as he boarded the train. "Just remember my words, and your relationship will blossom well!"

Bloodthirst watched as the train left, with his desires of wanting to have a short stay at Canterlot again one day…


	7. Chapter 7

Bloodthirst decided to head over to Sugarcube Corner one day.

"I feel bored these days at home," he said to himself. "I want to find something to do…"

He approached the entrance of Sugarcube Corner, and just as he stepped inside, out of nowhere, party streamers and confetti burst all around him!

"WELCOME!" Three voices called. Upon recovering from shock by the sudden surprise, he turned around to see Pepper Flake with her party cannon in front, with the twins Pound and Pumpkin Cake beside him.

"Do you like this surprise?" asked Pepper. "I planned it all along!"

"You… planned? That fast?" asked a bewildered Bloodthirst.

"She said that she saw you coming, and told us, and we planned everything quietly!" explained Pound Cake.

"Sorry if we scared the hay out of you," said Pumpkin Cake cheekily. "We tend to do this whenever we see somepony interesting!"

"Scared me? Well you guys did – I was expecting a quiet mood and you guys suddenly freaked me out!" retorted Bloodthirst.

"She said sorry already!" said Pepper. "Anyway what's eating you here?"

"Well, I'm pretty bored at home these days," he explained to them. "I wanted to find some work to do."

"Did you say work?" asked Pound Cake. "Looks like you came to the right place! I'll go find my parents. Why don't you all come with me?"

Bloodthirst followed the trio upstairs, where he greeted their parents, Mr Carrot Cake and Mrs Cup Cake, and of course, Pinkie Pie.

"So you wanted to look for a job?" asked Mrs Cup Cake. "Well you must know, vacancies don't always last long here! We have room for applicants all the time, and it's open to everypony!"

"You work might probably get boring," said Pinkie Pie. "But you can get to know lots of ponies! It's a fun job, really!"

"Can you handle this job well?" Mr Carrot Cake asked him. "From all those who volunteered, you seem to be a special pony to me."

"I'll try, Sir," he replied, determined. "After all it's better than staying at home watching Rarity and Platinum Royale work all day."

"You can help them!" chuckled Pumpkin Cake. "If that's the case you may consider doing part-time!"

"Okay," said Bloodthirst. "I'll go talk to Rarity. I'll see if she approves."

"Good luck, Bloodthirsty!" said Pepper Flake.

That night, Bloodthirst told Rarity and her family all about his plan.

"Ooh, that's nice," beamed Platinum. "You can go gain some experience!"

"You can actually get a bit of income to help support us too," added Rarity. "I liked the idea you want to work part time."

"Alright," said Bloodthirst. "I'll try my best."

"Remember a labor ethic: Customers are always right. You must know what they exactly want, then you can make good business," reminded Prudence Aura.

Bloodthirst's first day of work was on Saturday. He went there early and signed up on the spot. Joining with him was a tan brown unicorn pony.

"So this is your first day of work?" the unicorn pony asked.

"Uh-huh."

"Very well. I'm Striking Taps. And you?"

"I'm Bloodthirst."

"Ah, I see." He held out his hoof, but just as Bloodthirst stretched his own to do the same, Striking retracted back.

"Ah, sorry, just forgot that my hooves are sweaty." He said. "Anyway, I'm working for the first time today, too."

Just then, Mrs Cup Cake appeared.

"Well done, Bloodthirst," she said as she acknowledged the form Bloodthirst filled. "Now then, will you come with me? Pound and Pumpkin Cake and Pepper Flake will teach you everything in the kitchen. Mr err… Striking Taps, will you wait here for a moment? Pepper Flake, show the other newcomer around please."

Bloodthirst went, and when he turned back, he could see Striking looking disappointed.

"He must have been wanting to work in the kitchen, too," he thought.

Soon Pound and Pumpkin Cake were teaching him on the basic handling of kitchen equipments.

"All you need to do is to measure exactly the amount needed, based on the recipe."

Bloodthirst listened to everything nicely. But all the while he was working, he could see Striking didn't look at all well. When he left the newly-made pastries on the counter he didn't serve them instantly. When he turned to look halfway during his baking he saw that they had already been served.

"He's really, really weird," he thought to himself.

At the end of the day, Mr Carrot Cake called his two new employees.

"You've worked very well for the first day, and I'm very proud of you. Both of you shall receive fifty bits as your daily reward." He handed them their earnings.

"Thank you, sir," said Bloodthirst as he received, but Striking Taps, on the other hand, wasn't thankful at all. He took his earning straight and went out of the café.

"He looks strange," remarked Bloodthirst.

"Hmm, I don't think so," replied Carrot Cake. "I see him doing well all the day."

When Bloodthirst got home he reported all of his day's work to Rarity.

"That was fabulous," she remarked. "Was there anypony else who was working too, besides Pepper Flake?"

"There was someone called Striking Taps, but he doesn't seem to like me."

"Is that so?" asked Platinum Royale. "If he ever does anything to you just tell the boss or us."

"I will," he replied. "For some reason I sense something wrong on him."

On his following working sessions that followed, Bloodthirst worked hard, and he gained recognition from everyone. However, on the times when Striking Taps was on duty as well, he never talked to him, and his face was cross and sulky all the time.

"I'm not sure if I'm seeing things," said Pound Cake. "Every time I see Striking Taps working on the same day as Bloodthirst, he doesn't look at all happy."

"I saw that too," agreed Pumpkin Cake. "This is raising my suspicions. Have they met before they signed up to work?"

"Nah, it can't be," replied Pepper Flake. "Bloodthirst's only here for two months, how could they actually 'know' each other in the first place?"

"Oh, yeah, you're right," remarked Pound. "Then we need to observe further."

"You sure are alike to your mother, don't you, Pepper?" asked Pumpkin.

One afternoon, Bloodthirst was on his duty again, but Striking Taps was off-duty.

He had just served a tray of cupcakes on the counter when then, a familiar figure approached him.

"Hullo, Bloodthirst," greeted Chaos Control. "Fancy seeing you here!"

"Chaos Control?" responded Bloodthirst. "Why are you here?"

"Heh-heh, just visiting you. Pepper Flake told me everything. So, are your earnings good?"

"Fine, I get paid up to fifty bits a day."

"Anypony working with you?"

"Err, you know, there's this somepony called Striking Taps. He seems weird, he's always grumpy and he didn't even talk to me when he's working with me."

"Striking Taps… Oh, I heard about him! You better watch out."

"Why?"

"My sister says he's a racist. He thinks that normal ponies all work better than weird-looking ponies like us."

"How? What happened?"

"My mother once participated an animal fair with us. When we first saw him, he looked like as if he'd taken an instant dislike to us. When it came to the showdown where the animals perform tricks by their owners, we won the first prize. We suddenly heard a shout, and it was him, saying that these weird-looking ponies couldn't have won the first prize. Many of the ponies booed him, and everypony called him a racist for leaving a remark. Even Greenie Hats nearly picked up a fight with him!"

"Oh wow, that was one story!" interrupted Pepper Flake from behind.

"Well if that's the case," continued Bloodthirst. "We have to be wary of him. If he's anywhere, he can cause trouble."

"Yes," agreed Chaos. "You need to know, his friends told my sister all about him after that incident. They say he's quite arrogant and snobbish."

"Maybe that explains why he didn't even talk to me in the beginning," remarked Bloodthirst. "He must have thought that improper ponies like me should work as a waiter and not as a kitchen assistant."

"That's discrimination! Mayor Diamond Tiara wouldn't allow that," commented Chaos.

A week later, Bloodthirst was working again. Striking Taps was there, too. As usual, he remained in his sour face and wasn't talking to Bloodthirst all the while.

A while after lunch break, Striking Taps spoke to Pepper Flake.

"Excuse me, Miss Pepper Flake," he began. "This café is open to everypony working, right?"

"Um, yeah, earth ponies, unicorns, pegasi, and many more else, everypony's welcome!" she replied.

"Really? Then can I swap positions with that guy over there?"

"Err, you know, we need more waiters than kitchen assistants, and that arrangement was set by random by our boss. Besides, he's new to Ponyville and he wants to know how to live. This is true, you know…"

"Oh, really? New to this village?" he smirked. He approached Pepper, saying, "Why don't you ask your boss to ask him to find a better job around?"

"Wh-what are you doing…?" she cried as he began making lewd moves upon her.

"No one ever does that to my friend!" Bloodthirst, who came out of the kitchen and saw everything, came to her aid and knocked him out of her way.

"Oh, you weirdo pony, I should've whacked you when I first worked!" Striking Taps insulted.

"Just bring it on!" Bloodthirst retaliated, and both engaged into a fight, while Pepper Flake watched with horror. They banged an empty table, which overturned.

The twins came out of the kitchen when they heard Bloodthirst's shouts. Without wasting time, Pound went upstairs to inform the elders, as Pumpkin joined Pepper and the other customers in trying to break up the fight.

It wasn't long before Mr Carrot Cake, Mrs Cup Cake and Pinkie Pie arrived to see the commotion.

"Alright, stop this!" Mr Carrot Cake thundered. "What actually happened?"

"I saw Striking Taps harassing Pepper Flake!" began Bloodthirst.

"Boss! Fire this guy, please. He's an eyesore to me!" retorted Striking Taps.

"Hey! How could you say that?!" cried a customer.

"Silence!" Mr Carrot Cake shouted. "Both of you have caused a disturbance. Now, you must clean up all this mess. Afterwards I'll be sending you home and report everything to your families!"


	8. Chapter 8

Bloodthirst laid down on his mattress that night, feeling helpless and miserable, thinking about the events that happened that afternoon.

The twins offered kindly to send Bloodthirst home, and when Rarity asked what happened, the twins related everything as Bloodthirst looked for Platinum Royale, crying upon seeing her. Everyone consoled him, saying that it wasn't his fault. The twins felt sympathetic, but they weren't sure if Bloodthirst would still continue to work.

Feeling overwhelmed, Bloodthirst drifted to his sleep, with teary eyes. Platinum Royale entered a minute later, in her pajamas, looking at Bloodthirst.

"Poor little boy," she whispered, and she went to sleep.

Soon, Bloodthirst began dreaming, dreaming himself in a flowery meadow. He knew what it meant. His mother Marigold Scent was there, smiling and waiting for him.

"We meet again, dear son," she began. "You're hurt again?"

"I am. Somepony doesn't like me," he replied and told her all that happened.

"I see," she said as he finished. "Well you know, there are ponies of this kind in the world. You must learn to ignore these ponies. They are like this because they are jealous."

"I know, but he was doing harassing things to Pepper Flake. I have to save her!"

"Then," she advised. "You have to report to your boss if you see this happening again next time. Don't just go and barge in like that. This will be a loss to you."

"I understand, Mom. Now I don't know what my boss will do next."

"He'll surely find it out," finished Marigold as she began to fade away. "Just let time reveal the true culprit…"

Bloodthirst woke up, knowing his dream ended. He looked out of the window. It was already morning, the cool morning breeze blowing in and the birds sang. He sat up, remembering his mother's advice earlier.

"Well," he decided at last. "I shall wait then."

On Wednesday, he returned to work. Mr Carrot Cake had told him and Striking Taps, "Your earnings will now be halved for a fortnight as part of your punishment!"

He reached the entrance and opened the door, finding Mr Carrot Cake waiting for him.

"I hope you're behaving today," he spoke severely. "If I see red on you again don't come back again."

"Yes, sir," he said meekly.

Soon, Bloodthirst was working hard in the kitchen. He mixed the ingredients and prepared the cream, and helped prepare everything.

The twins were amazed.

"Will you look at that?" Pound said to Pumpkin. "He's working hard all day long. Kinda impressed by his recovery."

As Bloodthirst served the desserts on the counter, a number of customers stood there to compliment about him.

"Hello Bloodthirst. Feeling better?"

"I like the way you work, man. Just keep it up!"

"You know, you're better than that racist jerk. You work every day without fuss. Keep working, buddy!"

His happiest customer of all was Novella Fantasy, who brought along a card which she made with her friends. It was telling him that she and her friends loved him.

"Novella said that she wanted to try one of your bakes," Sweetie Belle told him. "So I took her along today."

"You're the best, Bloodthirst," Novella said. "We're with you!"

Soon it was time for Sugarcube Corner to end the business for the day. It was when Pinkie Pie brought in some news.

"The Mayor says that the renowned Fancypants is coming over to Ponyville for a visit at the end of the month! He is expecting some nice hostility here."

"Did you hear that?" asked Pepper Flake. "Somepony important is coming! If you can work well on that day, maybe you can regain Mr Carrot Cake's trust on you!"

"I'll try," he replied. "Please be on my guard if that guy ever comes on duty."

"We'll see what we can do," promised Pumpkin. "For a rough pony like him it's unpredictable."

Back home, he told Rarity and everypony else about everyone's compliments, and Novella Fantasy's gift for him.

"I think that must be Novella," Rarity replied. "Sweetie Belle must have told her everything when I told her about your story."

"She must have rallied up everypony in Ponyville to give you moral support," added Platinum Royale. "Everypony must have known about that incident already…"

"That's nice to know, that little filly…" He gave a sigh. "I don't know what to do on that day Fancypants comes, especially if he will be on duty too…"

"Who cares?" said Prudence Aura. "We'll defend you, don't worry."

The day eventually arrived.

Bloodthirst got up earlier than the rest, as he needed to begin his duties very early to welcome the VIP. He reached the entrance, where Pumpkin Cake was waiting.

"That was pretty early!" she remarked as she saw him.

"Punctuality matters, you know," he replied. "Needa start working early to make preparations faster." He said and went into the kitchen.

Soon he was working tirelessly, preparing the refreshments and the drinks. But just as he peeked out of the kitchen door, he froze.

Outside stood his enemy, Striking Taps.

"Bloodthirst…? What's the matter?" asked Pound Cake.

"S-see him over there…?" he stammered, pointing to him.

"Chill, man, chill," calmed Pound as he escorted him to a corner. "I'll try to defend you, with everyone else, as I've promised!"

Striking Taps had seen him, and he was thinking hard how to pay him out.

"I'll make sure that scum eats my words, for foiling my plans to get him fired!" he thought to himself.

Just fifteen minutes to twelve, Sugarcube Corner was already packed with visitors. Twilight Sparkle was among the visitors, making host to the VIP. She was busy making arrangements with Mr Carrot Cake.

Meanwhile, Melody Aurora and her friends tried to look for Bloodthirst. They found him at a corner, looking uneasy. The twins were with him.

"You look sick, Bloodthirst. Anything wrong?" asked Beryl.

Bloodthirst tried to speak, but due to his extreme nervousness, he could only stutter.

"What?" asked Melody, annoyed.

"Just let him be," said Pumpkin Cake calmly. "Somepony he's afraid of is here today, and he doesn't want to get exploited." She looked around. Striking Taps wasn't in sight.

"We're not sure what will he do today to pay him out," added Pound. "Whatever the reason we're trying to defend him. Maybe you could probably lend us a hoof and help us."

"Hmph, that trash. I haven't finished dealing with him!" snorted Greenie Hats.

"Control yourself," advised Raisin Brandy. "If you fight with him again here it will be bad for the VIP!"

Out of nowhere, Bloodthirst was glancing around when he saw Striking Taps looking around suspiciously. He then saw him taking out a packet of strange powder, then pour it into one of the glasses filled with punch when no one was noticing. He then threw it and buried the packet into the trash bin, and pretended everything was normal.

"Oh, no!" thought Bloodthirst. "That's the drinks for the VIPs! If anypony or even the main VIP drinks this he might get poisoned! I must do something!" He immediately salvaged for the packet. Luckily it still had some of the powder remaining, and he quickly hid it behind the trash bin. Then, quietly he exchanged the glass from the VIP table to the normal guests' table.

At 12 o'clock, as everyone was still chattering excitedly, Featherweight announced.

"The VIP and his entourages have arrived!"

Twilight Sparkle and Diamond Tiara stood on guard at the entrance as everypony cheered. In came Fancypants, then his model Fleur dis Lee, and his entourages.

"A pleasure to welcome you here, Sir," greeted Diamond Tiara.

"Thank you, Mayor," replied Fancypants. "I'm here as well to take a break from Canterlot. All I can say is that Ponyville and the residents remain that rustic look, just like how I said about Princess Twilight and her friends many years ago."

Twilight only blushed and giggled.

"Well," announced Pinkie Pie. "Now that our VIP is here, IIIIIIIT'S MEAL TIME!" She shouted and popped her party cannon, and at once everyone went for their refreshments.

At first, everything seemed normal. Suddenly, the sound of somepony vomiting sounded from the crowd.

"Blarrgh!" exclaimed Pizza Frenzy as he coughed. "There's *cough* something wrong *cough* with my punch!"

"Seriously?" asked Cheese Sandwich as he sniffed his own. "There's nothing wrong with mine."

"So is mine," replied Soarin.

At once, all guests checked their drinks. To everyone's surprise, all their drinks were normal!

"There's something wrong with it. Let me have a look," said Mr Carrot Cake. Pizza handed him over his punch as Thunder Clash helped him.

"Easy there, buddy," he said, handling him over a glass of water.

"There is something wrong," he remarked after sniffing the punch. "Twilight, do you know what it is?"

"Let me see…" As Twilight smelled and stirred the punch, bubbles began to form, and it was concentrated. "It has been contaminated with soap powder!" She turned to the guests. "Who's the culprit to Pizza Frenzy's punch?"

As everypony looked at each other, without any ideas, Bloodthirst, who had heard everything from the kitchen, called out.

"I have proof!" He went to the trash bin and revealed the packet of soap powder. At once, everypony gasped.

"So it was the soap powder!" called Peanut Butter.

"W-wait! How the hay did you…" Striking Taps called from the crowd.

"I saw you did it!" Bloodthirst pointed to him. "You tried to make our VIP cough and then put the blame on me as if you're not done with our incident!"

"Wait, how did you know it…?"

"Admit it! You're trying to harm our friend!" hissed Greenie Hats.

"Stop arguing!" snapped Mr Carrot Cake. "Are you gonna make me fire you right away for this nonsense?"

Thinking it was Bloodthirst who was going to get fired, Striking Taps sniggered. Just then, Chaos Control interrupted.

"Excuse me, Sir," he began. "I have proof that Bloodthirst is err, innocent."

"Innocent? Rubbish!" Striking Taps snorted. "What sort of proof do you have?"

"Well then, do you have any soap powders in your kitchen?" he asked Pepper Flake.

"Err, yeah, five big packets left."

"Show us one, please."

Pepper returned instantly with a packet of soap powder.

"Well that was a big one. The one at the trash bin was a smaller packet meant for home use. Besides, if Bloodthirst had been holding that soap powder he would have soap smell on his body."

"He's got some weird soap smell on him," Sonic Flash, who was beside Striking Taps murmured.

"And if Bloodthirst went to commit that despicable act, he wasn't around talking with me and my friends," finished Chaos.

"Yeah, he was with us," agreed Melody Aurora. "He was trying to tell us how nervous he was because he saw his enemy here today."

"And he was really nervous," added Pound Cake. "So nervous that we had to help him say what he meant."

Soon all of his friends agreed that Bloodthirst was with them.

"A-and, I saw him emptying the powder into a VIP glass, so I had to exchange it with a normal guest's one," said Bloodthirst.

"And Pizza Frenzy turned out to drink the contaminated one," remarked Sweetie Belle.

"So that's how it is," said Mr Carrot Cake. He turned to Striking Taps. "It seems you haven't let go of the grudge of that fight a few weeks back, huh?"

Striking Taps could only gulp, knowing that his intention to frame Bloodthirst had been foiled.

"I'm absolutely disappointed on you. Apart from not showing any commitment on your job, you nearly upset my arrangements."

"And you're lucky that my son can remain fine. If my son passed out here you'll be taking this entire responsibility!" thundered Cheese Sandwich.

As the guests booed and humiliated him, Striking Taps ran away, embarrassed and feeling disgraced.

"You feeling better now?" Diamond Tiara asked Pizza.

"I'm… alright," said a recovered Pizza as he drank plain water. "That weird taste freaked me out."

"As long as you can still stand and talk, we'll be relieved," said Applejack.

"I have to thank Bloodthirst," he continued. "For being so alert on his actions."

"R-really?"

"That was pretty impressive," said Fancypants. "Saving my life for that. The Princess could've given you an award."

"You probably could have at least alerted your boss," said Diamond Tiara. "Then we wouldn't have this commotion."

"I was very scared. He won't believe me ever since my previous incident."

"Bloodthirst," Mr Carrot Cake said. "I deeply apologize for that incident. Perhaps I should listen to my children to act thoroughly. You and everypony else deserved to be treated equal without discrimination."

"Yes! He's my number one!" A filly's voice cried out. It was Novella Fantasy.

At once, everyone gave praises to the young vampire pony.

"Did you hear that?" asked Chaos Control to him. "From now on you're going to work harder than usual!"

"We'll be by your side, darling," supported Rarity.

"Th-thanks, everypony," said Bloodthirst gracefully. "If it wasn't Chaos Control who helped to defend me I would've been depressed."

"That's what we always do," said Melody. "Helping somepony in need with each other."

"Why don't we finish this party first?" asked Twilight. "We can talk afterwards."

The lunch reception continued, as Bloodthirst's heart filled with hope and support.


	9. Chapter 9

Bloodthirst was straining. He was wondering where his next enemy was.

"Darn it, is he somewhere… here?" He turned around after hearing some suspected hoofsteps. But he was trapped in another dimension, and he was finding the final enemy in order to make himself safe and look for the exit.

Just as he was surveying, he sensed something pouncing behind him.

"Gotcha!" Using his eyes, he shot laser beams at his final target, incapacitating it.

As he turned to look for the exit, suddenly the whole place changed, and all around him was the training yard outside Fluttershy's house.

"10 seconds faster, slightly better than the day before yesterday," said Chaos Control as he landed. He was apparently setting up a virtual training field for Bloodthirst, as a purpose to train him against enemies. Bloodthirst had been training with Chaos for two months, and Chaos wanted to make sure he was well-defensed.

"How's it gonna work?" Bloodthirst asked Chaos when he first heard of it.

"You know, I'll be creating a dimension full of enemy monsters. All you need to do is defeat all enemies and the entire dimension ends. By doing this, you'll get stronger and stronger and you'll become faster and faster in defeating enemies. My dad used to train me like this before. It basically works like a video game, the longer you play, the more experienced you will be, and you'll be better in clearing the game!" he explained.

"Am I… better?" Bloodthirst asked modestly.

"Yes, you are," he replied. "Seeing you fully convicted to your battling skills makes me impressed."

"Thanks."

"Hey, don't mention it, buddy!" Chaos wrapped his paw around Bloodthirst's neck. "You've been training hard. You always deserve a little treat. Come with me to my dad's old house."

Later Bloodthirst was in Discord's old house in Chaosville. His house still remained the chaotic and messy appearance throughout the years, yet Discord still maintained it well.

"So you're going to be as strong as my son or Princess Twilight one day, huh?" Discord asked as he poured a cup of tea for Bloodthirst. "Chaos has been telling me how eager and determined you've been learning."

"Yes, sir."

"He's been very modest," said Chaos. "He doesn't feel like being improved, but I've been encouraging him to make sure he doesn't think that he's weaker than he really thinks."

"You have the desire to achieve your goal," encouraged Beryl, smiling. "With this I don't think you can give up easily."

"I know," he replied. "Though it's still a long way…"

"I know you'll be great one day," chuckled Chaos. "There's still a lot for you to learn. We are an entire family for you. I'm your 'brother'. Beryl, Prudence and Malinae are your 'sisters'. Rarity's gonna be your 'mother'. We've talked about it with our friends some time ago, on how to make you feel homey. Does it sound nice?"

"You've planned it all the time?" he asked, surprised. "It looks great!"

"Glad that you're happy to hear that," smiled Beryl. "We're going to make you feel warm."

The next day, Bloodthirst was at the outskirts of Ponyville, and Greenie Hats was training him on flying.

"There you go!" praised Greenie as she watched him touching down. "A little more practice and you will be completing your overall lesson!"

"Thanks, Greenie," he replied. "Though I hope not to be engaged in a race one day."

"Don't worry, I won't challenge you," she chuckled. "Bullies will do, and when that happens I'll challenge them instead!"

"You sure?"

Before Greenie Hats could reply, Beryl appeared.

"There you guys are!" she began. "Greenie, haven't you told him about this yet?"

"What?"

"We're off for an expedition to Griffonstone next week. Aren't you telling him who's going?"

"Really? Griffonstone? Is that the place where griffons live?" Bloodthirst asked.

"It's got its own history too," replied Beryl. "You can check out the history books in Princess Twilight's castle. The history of Griffonstone is recorded as well."

"So yeah, ain't just me alone. Mom, Thunder Clash, Chaos and Beryl are going. You wanna join?"

"Um, well," decided Bloodthirst. "I think I'll give it a shot. Time to put my stamina to the test."

"Yeah, that's the spirit!" beamed Greenie, her hooves over Bloodthirst. "Mom will be leading the expedition. Besides, she's visiting an old friend, too!"

"An old friend?"

"Her name is Gilda," replied Beryl. "Mom remembers her as a meanie when she came to Ponyville, but after Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie came back from a friendship mission she told us that she was very sorry for the trouble she caused to everypony."

"Aha, so she has quite a history, too…"

"We'll try to introduce you to her," said Greenie. "And you'll show her what you can do!"

On the day of the expedition, Rainbow Dash and the group all assembled at the train station.

"Don't push too hard, okay?" Soarin said to Rainbow Dash. "And you kids take care of yourselves, too."

"We know what to do, Dad!" replied Thunder Clash.

"Bring us back souvenirs, if you can," Fluttershy told her children. "Pinkie tells me that there are scones to be enjoyed."

"Understood, Mom," said Beryl.

"Don't let anyone get hurt, okay?" Melody Aurora asked Chaos.

"I will, sweetheart. I'll make sure Bloodthirst is in save hooves." He kissed her on her forehead, making her giggle.

"Take care, Bloodthirst," Platinum Royale told him. "Listen to Rainbow Dash, okay?"

"You always advise that. I know what to do," he replied. She only giggled.

It was a two hours' train ride to Griffonstone station. Along the way, Rainbow told them on the history of Griffonstone, and the story on how she and Pinkie Pie were sent to solve a friendship problem.

"Wow," gasped Bloodthirst. "So the loss of an artifact led to the demise of a town's former glory! And even the lightest job like telling a story needs to be paid? That's lame."

"Definitely, then we found out friendship was the better solution," Rainbow replied. "She's the mayor of Grriffonstone now, and nowadays writes to me on how Griffonstone has developed, thanks to what we did many years ago."

"Oooh, I can't wait to get a good look on the new Griffonstone!" said Thunder Clash excitedly.

Soon the train reached the station. When they left the station, Bloodthirst was surprised by the rocky mountain trail.

"My, that was long…" he gasped.

"Well, we have to walk through that," said Rainbow. "Pinkie and I did this, too."

"Anyhow we need to take precautions," said Chaos. "Any mistake in your hoofsteps can be dangerous."

Soon the group started their hike. The trail winded and twisted all along, and there gaps where they had to hop across.

It was windy along the way. Just then, Greenie Hats spotted something.

"Do you see something?" asked Greenie to Beryl.

"What is it?" replied Beryl.

"Something flying in the air."

"Really? Where is it?" asked Thunder Clash.

There was indeed something flying in the air. And it looked like flying uncontrollably.

"There you go, Bloodthirst. You're seeing a griffon now!" said Rainbow Dash.

"But I feel there's something wrong with it," said Bloodthirst. "And I don't think we're quite close yet."

"You're right, there is something strange," agreed Chaos.

As the griffon figure approached them, they could hear it screaming.

"Help… help me!"

"He looks like he's in trouble!" cried Thunder Clash.

To make matters worse, the griffon was heading straight towards them!

"I'll save him!" exclaimed Bloodthirst, and took off towards him.

"Bloodthirst, watch out! I haven't taught you that before!" Greenie shouted.

But it was too late.

Bloodthirst stretched his hooves, but just as he was about to catch him, he collided straight with the griffon, sending both spiraling down.

"Get them!" ordered Chaos, and he and Thunder went to the rescue. Instantly they saved them. Chaos got hold of Bloodthirst, while Thunder got the griffon. They all returned to the group.

"There," said Greenie. "You can't go straight and act without thinking further."

"I'm sorry," said Bloodthirst. "But there's someone I really need to save!"

"Forget about that. We need to help our victim," said Chaos. They all went to the griffon, where Beryl was tending to him. He appeared to be a teenage griffon, and had a dark brown head, had purple eyes and had a golden yellow body.

"Do you feel better now?" Beryl asked him.

"I… I do," he responded after appearing stunned for a few moments. "Thanks for saving me guys. I… I didn't know what to do… The wind was blowing fiercely and I couldn't keep myself balanced."

"What's your name, lil' griffon?" asked Rainbow Dash.

"Call me Gilbert," the griffon replied. "Are you ponies from Ponyville or something?"

"Yes, we are," said Rainbow Dash, and they all introduced themselves.

"You know, I've never been outside Griffonstone before," explained Gilbert. "I decided to just fly on the outskirts and then the sudden wind carried me away and I don't know what to do!"

"So you wanted to do some exploring, huh?" asked Greenie.

"Gilbert! There you are!" Suddenly, another griffon appeared. Everyone gasped. He looked exactly like him!

"What are you doing? Out exploring again? Come on, are you gonna do that childish dream again?" the griffon questioned him.

"Come on, this ain't a dream!" Gilbert retaliated. "Besides, you should thank them."

"Them…?" He turned to face with the ponies. "You… saved my brother?"

"We saw him flying out of control, then," said Greenie Hats.

"I flew to save him" continued Bloodthirst. "But I can't catch him in time and-"

"We still saved him," finished Chaos. "So you're his brother?"

"He's my twin," replied Gilbert. "He's several minutes older than me."

"I'm Gibson," the griffon said. "Are you all coming to Griffonstone?"

"Yes, for some expedition," said Rainbow Dash.

"Oh, come with me," said Gibson. "I can take you to see my mother, who's the mayor!"

"Oh, I know her!"

"Wait, you're… Rainbow Dash?" asked Gilbert, surprised. "As in the best flyer in Equestria?"

"Now you know it, huh?" grinned Rainbow Dash. "Show us the way!"

The group continued, led by Gibson and Gilbert. Soon they could see the arch, signaling the entrance to the town.

"It's so… huuuuuge," gasped Greenie Hats.

"It was added ten years ago, when we suggested something to signify visitors our town," replied Gibson.

They passed the town. Unlike how Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie last visited, the griffons were now friendly and helpful. It was like the previous glory of Griffonstone's old days.

They then encountered a pink-headed, brown female griffon.

"There you guys are!" she called. Then she noticed the ponies. "You're the ponies from Ponyville?"

"Are you Gibson and Gilbert's sister?" asked Bloodthirst.

"Call me Chrissa," the female griffon introduced. "Well I'm supposed to be expecting you all so that I can take you to meet my mother."

"Show us where she is, please," said Rainbow Dash.

They went to a large, sturdy building, and once they entered and passed some doorways, they met Gilda, who was waiting in her room.

"Rainbow Dash!" Gilda greeted. "Glad to see you're here."

"Glad to see you, too," replied Rainbow as she introduced her expedition team. "As for this one," she said as she introduced Bloodthirst. "He's a vampire pony, he's new to Ponyville and he needs to learn."

"I see," said Gilda. "Has Rainbow Dash or anypony else told you about Griffonstone?"

"Err, yes, Madam," he replied sincerely.

"He was once somepony living in misery and agony. He came to us and we tried to offer help and advice to him so that he can live happily," explained Chaos Control.

"I see about that," declared Gilda. "Who are you staying with, little buddy?"

"Umm, Rarity. She takes care of me… well."

"Very well," concluded Gilda. "I will get a nice place for you to rest your hooves. After your lunch my children will take you on a tour around Griffonstone."

"Understood, Madam," complied Beryl.

"Err, one question," said Thunder Clash. "Is this town famous for scones?"

"Of course it is, you dope," chided Beryl. "Haven't you read that in the history book?"

"Y'know, I'm too excited about the expedition to care about anything else," he replied embarrassingly, which made Beryl glare at him hard.

"Never mind about that," chuckled Gilbert. "We'll assign you all in an inn before giving you a tour. You can buy the scones all the way."

"I know the best inn in town where you can rest your hooves," said Chrissa. "Come with me!"


	10. Chapter 10

After a whole day's touring around Griffonstone, the group managed to settle themselves back in the inn.

"Whew!" sighed Bloodthirst. "That was one tiring day."

"Couldn't have been better," said Thunder Clash. "These scones sure are tasty, too bad Pizza Frenzy didn't come. He could've savored them as well."

"Worry about yourself for the moment. You've eaten too many scones and your throat's gonna be sore," said Beryl indignantly. "But wait, maybe you're right. I can't help to think if Pizza Frenzy followed us."

"You're too caring on my brother, aren't you?" asked Greenie Hats jokingly. "C'mon, just give him some freedom."

"You siblings…" remarked a very annoyed Beryl. "You guys really need some conscience."

"It's okay, Beryl," said Bloodthirst. "At least they won't be doing anything silly."

"Silly…?"

"He's got a point," said Chaos Control. "When Thunder Clash's always with Pizza Frenzy they usually pull silly pranks, but not in a way to harm anyone else."

"Ah well, I can't help it," admitted Rainbow Dash. "He's got my traits, after all."

Beryl glared at them. "Whatever," she said at last. "I have to sleep now. You know we got some hiking to do tomorrow. Just don't talk too loud." She got off to return to her room.

"I guess we need to get ourselves tucked as well," said Chaos conclusively. "Come on, Chaos. Back to our room."

"Alright, then. Good night, everypony."

"Nights to you, too, Bloodthirst," said Greenie.

It was soon late into midnight. Everyone was in their snores.

Bloodthirst was half-conscious in his sleep when he heard something roaring.

"Wh-what was that?" he asked.

The roaring seemed to get louder and louder every second. He got up and walked towards the window. There was nothing in sight.

He was busy looking at the outside to see Chaos being woke up by the noise, too.

"Goodness gracious, what was that?" he yawned. Then he saw Bloodthirst. "Bloodthirst?"

"It's… it's coming from somewhere…" he replied.

Chaos joined with him, and they all looked out of the window. A few seconds later, the roaring noise faded away.

"What do you think was that…?" asked Bloodthirst.

"I have no idea," Chaos answered. "It doesn't sound like a proper beast's roar."

"I thought so, too."

Still feeling unsure and uneasy, both went back to sleep.

The next morning, as Chrissa and her brothers gathered Rainbow Dash and the group, they saw Chaos and Bloodthirst looking gloomy.

"What's wrong with you two? It looks like you haven't been sleeping," asked Rainbow Dash.

"Too excited, huh?" asked Thunder Clash.

"It's not that," said Bloodthirst. "It's-"

"We heard a strange roaring noise in the middle of the night," said Chaos. "Haven't you guys heard it, too?"

Everyone pondered for a moment.

"Yeah, me, too," said Beryl.

"I thought it was a storm coming," said Greenie.

"Actually, it's been like this for a year," explained Chrissa.

"What's that?" asked Rainbow.

"Rumors say that there's a golem living from afar from Griffonstone. It's believed that the golem was possessed by the mad scientist Grakken who is living far away from Griffonstone, who even claims that he did so because he was doing an extraordinary experiment."

"Any back story about Grakken?" asked Chaos.

"He's an infamous scientist," she continued to explain. "He used to make a lot of silly experiments here. One day he suddenly disappeared, and when these roaring sounds came, they believed he went there to perform a loud experiment."

"Is that… so?" asked Thunder Clash. "Pah, who cares? At least he's not targeting us today."

"Don't be ridiculous!" snapped Beryl. "You won't know if that golem he's supposedly controlling might attack suddenly."

"She's right," agreed Gibson. "If you're in trouble suddenly then you can't guarantee yourself."

"Well anyway," resumed Chrissa. "We'd better get started. I hope you've got enough supplies all the way."

"Yes, we do," complied Beryl.

"Then let's go."

Shortly after lunch the group began their mountain road trek, led by Chrissa, Gibson and Gilbert. All the way up to the observation hut at the peak, the journey was smooth. When they reached the observation hut, they were amazed at the scenery.

"It's so… grand," gasped Bloodthirst.

"Like you can view almost the entire of Equestria from here," added Beryl.

"So breathtaking," said Greenie Hats.

They stayed there for about an hour. Then they began to descend.

Then there was trouble.

"What!?" exclaimed Rainbow Dash as a loud roar was heard, and the whole place shook.

"Oh, no!" cried Chrissa. "The golem! It's roaring!"

"But I thought it's supposed to roar at night!" wailed Beryl.

"I didn't expect that!" replied Gilbert.

The roar came again.

"We'll make a run for it! Back to Griffonstone!" ordered Chrissa.

The group quickly ran, with roars still being heard booming along the way. Worse still, cracks began to appear along the narrow, twisty path.

Just as another roar boomed, a massive crack appeared on the path, and Gilbert's hind leg was unfortunately stuck between the crack.

"Ahh, help!" he cried. "I'm stuck!"

"Gilbert!" cried Thunder Clash. He went to help him.

"Don't panic!" Bloodthirst joined.

They tried to lift him out, but his leg was stuck deep.

Before they could do anything else, a rock hit Thunder Clash's wing.

"Ouch! What's that?"

Unknown to them, a giant boulder, triggered by the roar was rolling down towards them. Only Chaos saw it.

"Look out! A boulder's rolling towards us!"

"Nrgh!"

Another roar sounded. This time, more cracks formed, and the area where Bloodthirst, Thunder Clash and Gilbert stood gave way and they couldn't react in time.

"Bloodthirst, no!" yelled Chaos.

"Thunder Clash!" cried Greenie Hats.

"Gilbert!" exclaimed Gibson.

The boulder rolled past them, and a loud crash followed a few seconds later.

Chaos rushed towards the edge. Below, he could see a river flowing, with the fallen boulder in pieces. Thunder Clash, holding Gilbert, was struggling to stay afloat. It was windy below.

"G-go and get some h-help!" he shouted.

"Where's Bloodthirst?" asked Chaos.

"I'll… go… get him. Uh, ahh!" he screamed as he swayed uncontrollably. Instantly he banged the side and rolled down.

The others joined and watched both of them tumble and fall.

"Are they gonna be alright?" asked Beryl.

"They should be," replied Chaos. "If there are no further hazards below there."

"I hadn't even taught Bloodthirst how to recover from a fall," said Greenie.

"Now what can I do…?" asked Gibson, feeling hysterical. "With my brother in a state like this…"

"Calm down," consoled Rainbow Dash. "We need to report this to your mother. Then we can get a search and rescue team."

"She's right," agreed Chrissa. "Just standing here mourning won't do any good. We need to take action seriously, and if we're lucky enough, we can get them back alive."

Gibson pondered for a moment. "Fine."

"There's no time to lose. Back to Griffonstone immediately!" declared Chaos, and they rushed back.

Meanwhile, Bloodthirst who survived the fall as he fell into the river and avoided the crashing boulder climbed out of the water. He shook the water off his body and found Thunder Clash and Gilbert, who survived the fall lying at a corner.

"You two alright?" he asked them.

"I'm… fine," groaned Thunder Clash, struggling to get up. "I only got bruises, from falling."

"I don't think I am," moaned Gilbert. "I've sprained my leg."

Bloodthirst examined it, and when he touched it, Gilbert let out a cry.

"It must be serious," said Thunder.

"We must find some place safe," declared Bloodthirst. "I don't know if the golem will find us here!"

"I don't think we can fly all the way out," said Thunder, pointing upwards. The wind was howling fiercely.

"So do I thought," agreed Bloodthirst. "I can't even fly in such extreme conditions. Plus, Gilbert's leg…"

"Can we find some place safe here, like a cave or something?" asked Gilbert.

"We'll give it a shot," said Thunder.

The three walked along the river flow, with Thunder supporting Chaos. Sure enough, after some distance, they spotted a cave ahead.

"That looks nice. We'll go for it!" said Thunder Clash.

But when they reached the entrance, the cave inside was pitch dark.

"I'll lead," said Bloodthirst. "I have night vision. I can see through the darkness. You won't know what you'll encounter in there."

"I guess… so," complied Thunder.

They ventured inside, and stopped to rest at a place not far from the entrance.

"Here, I guess this is safe."

"Good grief," sighed Gilbert as he lay down. "I wish there was something around to treat my leg now."

"We'll try. Right now I bet the others are rushing back for help," said Bloodthirst.

"They should be. I called that when I was trying to stay afloat. Man, that wind was fierce," said Thunder. "Which reminds me, you said that you have night vision…"

"Yeah, that's a trait we vampire ponies have," he replied. ''My father used to tell me, our night vision enables us to help see prey clearly in the dark. That's what helped me to locate Platinum Royale's house when I escaped to Ponyville."

"Does that mean you have a good sense of hearing, too?"

"Of course! While you're talking, I can hear their hoofsteps, as well as their discussion about us."

"Wh-what were they saying?"

"Just figuring out how to rescue us, and how difficult it would be. You know, Grakken's loud experiment was probably miles away from Griffonstone. Even though, I could still hear his loud noise, which grew louder and louder until Chaos woke up."

"That's amazing…"

"In spite of all these, I still have vague idea on my clan's past," Bloodthirst sighed. "My parents died when I was just a colt. Therefore I never had the chance to know more about my clan."

"You have… a history?" asked Gilbert.

"A very long history, dating back to the early years after the banishment of Nightmare Moon."

"Man, that's cool. I wish I could research it."

"You're not allowed to go out of Griffonstone?" inquired Thunder Clash.

"It's not the case. I'm actually interested in pony stuff, and I would do research and study about it. The other griffons laugh at me when I told them about it. They say I'm wasting my life studying things that aren't my kind!"

"Does your family support you?"

"Good thing they did. Well, my mom knows your mom some long time back, she said."

"I kinda support your view," said Bloodthirst. "You know, there are still a lot of things I need to learn about pony nature."

"We're your friends," said Thunder Clash. "There's no way we can stop you from learning about us."

"I wish I can come to Ponyville someday," continued Gilbert. "I haven't been outside of Griffonstone before. My mom's the one leaving Griffonstone so far in my family, sometimes for visiting your mother."

"You can come. You know, Ponyville is all about friendship. It's pretty practical to make friends and break the ice. That's all I know about it," said Bloodthirst.

The three talked and talked until it was evening.

"It's getting dark," said Gilbert. "But there has been no sign of the rescue team?"

"I have no idea what they're doing," replied Thunder Clash. "What's taking them so long?"

"I don't know, too," added Bloodthirst. "Anyway, I'll have to keep an eye everywhere. We have to survive the night, somehow."

"Yeah," agreed Thunder. "I wish I was back at Griffonstone now. Mom and Big Sissey should be worrying about me now. They would think I wouldn't have survived."

"Chaos Control should be worrying me, too. But if anything happens I'll have to put my training skills to the test, even if it's the riskiest to me."

Bloodthirst walked towards the cave entrance and glanced outside. Everywhere was quiet. The sun was setting, and it was getting darker.

"We should be safe now for the moment," he said quietly.

Then the unthinkable happened.

"What the…?" Bloodthirst could feel tremors thundering the ground, and it grew heavier and heavier. "An earthquake? It can't be!" he thought to himself.

"What's going on?" asked Thunder Clash who rushed outside.

Before Bloodthirst could answer, a huge, terrifying figure appeared a few hundred feet away from them.

"Th-the golem!" exclaimed Thunder.

The mud-colored golem stood several hundred feet tall, just a hundred feet short of the walking path above.

Above the golem was a griffon-like figure, sitting on it, and it was appearing to control the golem.

"It's Grakken!"

"Wonderful, you know my name!" Grakken began. "Now basically, this golem is my latest and greatest masterpiece I've been working for a year, and I've longed to show off how it works, before I'm gonna present this to the whole of Griffonstone!"

"Seriously!?" blurted Thunder Clash.

"I don't think you can. Your golem has been causing a disturbance to everyone in Griffonstone. Besides, its roar nearly killed me and my friends!" protested Bloodthirst.

"Really?" he asked, not scared by this threats. "Then why don't you have a bit of fun with my creation for a start?" He raised his right claw, and the golem roared loudly.

"Wh-what can w-we do?" stammered Thunder Clash.

"Get inside the cave and guard Gilbert," Bloodthirst instructed. "I'll face him."

"W-will you do it?"

"I'll be fine. Now go!"

As Thunder raced back in, Bloodthirst growled to face his mega-enemy.

"You're mine!" he snarled.

"Let's see what you got there, kid," sniggered Grakken, as he made the golem growl. He made it punch the ground. Bloodthirst escaped. He raced and tried biting the golem's leg, but as he sank his fangs in, it kicked him off, sending him crashing onto the wall. Despite being hurt, he managed to recover.

"Nice try, kid," said Grakken, amazed at his ability.

"I'm not holding back!" Bloodthirst grunted, and fired lasers from his eyes towards its legs. But just as the section got blasted, it immediately recovered back.

From the cave, Thunder Clash watched the entire battle with anxiety.

"How is he doing?" Gilbert asked nervously.

"He's doing… well, at least, for the moment," Thunder replied. "If nopony comes to help at this rate he won't take it anymore."

The battle raged on for a long time. As hard as Bloodthirst attacked, the golem seemed undefeatable, and regenerative. Grakken had full control on the golem.

"What do you think of my creation now, little boy?" he asked.

Bloodthirst only glared at the golem, panting and saying nothing.

"Very well," Grakken said at last. "I'll put an end to your pathetic suffering!" He raised the golem's hand, ready to flatten Bloodthirst.

"Darn it…!" Bloodthirst stared at the oncoming hand. He knew he couldn't defeat this huge structure.

Just as Bloodthirst shut his eyes and turned his muzzle to the ground, a huge crash sounded above him.

"Huh?"

A huge figure, more than twice his size hovered above him. It was Chaos Control, who had transformed into his beastly form. He had smashed the hand into smithereens, saving Bloodthirst.

"Chaos?"

"Not too late, I suppose?" Chaos turned to him.

"How did you even get here?"

"Over here!" Beryl's voice called. From afar, he could see her with some of the rescue team members, including the ones from Ponyville.

"How did you know where we are?" Bloodthirst asked Chaos.

"We heard all those booms from afar," Chaos explained. "We suspect that it was the golem coming to attack you so we rushed to the spot just as the search and rescue team from Ponyville arrived."

"Well, you know," said Bloodthirst, looking at the golem which was now reconstructing itself. "I'm going to take down Grakken using my own bare hooves!"

"It's impossible to defeat the golem totally," remarked Chaos. "Now then, notice that Grakken has a ring on his right?"

"Um, yeah."

"If we can get him to remove that ring, the golem can surely be destroyed! Right now, listen to what I say. I have a plan…"

Just as the golem's hand recovered, Chaos soared into the air, with Bloodthirst riding on his back.

"Backup, eh?" Grakken smirked. He then launched attacks on Chaos, but he avoided them. The attacks struck the cliff edge.

"Retreat!" ordered Beryl, fearing that the place they were on might give way suddenly.

"Hold on tight," said Chaos. "When we get to head level just take him down!"

"Got it!"

It was hard work trying to get to the top of the golem. Grakken kept retaliating, but Chaos wouldn't give up. Slowly but surely, they were nearly head level with the golem.

"Bloodthirst, on the count of three, jump!"

"Okay," said Bloodthirst, preparing.

Once Chaos counted to three, Grakken aimed straight at Chaos. Just as Chaos blocked the attack, which created a thick patch of dust, Bloodthirst pounced straight towards him!

"What!?"

"I got you!" he called, and knocked him off as he came in contact with him. Both of them tumbled to the ground. As both of them hit the ground upon impact, the ring which Grakken was wearing shattered. As it did, the golem began to disintegrate from the head, and all the rocks from it fell into a pile.

"No, NOOOOOOO!" cried Grakken as the rocks fell and piled. He turned to Bloodthirst, now furious. "You, you'll pay for that! That was my hard work for over a year! Ruined, RUINED!"

"At least, I saved Griffonstone…"

"Saved? You're-" Before Grakken could finish the rest of his sentence, he suddenly fell to the ground and went out cold. Behind him, Chaos approached, back to his normal form.

"I put him to sleep for the moment," said Chaos. "He won't be awake for the next ten hours."

"At least, well," replied Bloodthirst. "We prevented him from causing rampage at Griffonstone."

"Really?"

"Hello? Everything fine out there?" Thunder Clash's voice called from afar.

"Shoot, I nearly forgot about them," murmured Chaos. He called to them. "It's safe out here now!"

"Chaos! Is everything fine?" Beryl called from above. "The rescue team is coming down right now!"

"They're alright!" Chaos turned back to Bloodthirst. "We're going back to Griffonstone right now, then you can tell them everything."

"Right!"

"Take care of his leg," Thunder Clash told the rescuers as they touched down. "It's badly sprained."

The rescue team managed to carry Bloodthirst, Thunder and Gilbert to safety, with the sleeping Grakken along. When they arrived back at Griffonstone, they were sent to the hospital. Gilda and the others were waiting, and Bloodthirst told them everything that happened.

"So that's how it happened," remarked Rainbow Dash.

"Man, so he has an evil intention!" said Gilda. "He shall be punished according to the rules!"

"What are you going to do with him?" Beryl asked.

"Hmmm, let me see, ten years' imprisonment for threatening a village? I'll contact the authorities in Canterlot. Before this, I'll be questioning him when he wakes up. Then, he has to clear the golem's remains at that place."

"You know, Bloodthirst," said Gilbert. "I was amazed at your battling. You were splendid."

"Actually, I should thank Chaos for that," he replied. "He's the one who trained me."

"You need more practice, buddy," said Chaos. "You have to know your right enemy."

"And you should practice yourself more on flying," added Greenie Hats. "So you can handle dangerous situations like that one just now."

"You were actually amazing," commented Chrissa. "To survive at a situation like that."

"That was impressive. Thank you for saving my brother," said Gibson. "I think this should change the griffon's views on Gilbert's study now."

"Hopefully. You were a great help in arresting a villain for us, Bloodthirst. I didn't know how to thank you much," said Gilda. "Maybe I should come to Ponyville again some day, I should tell Princess Twilight how splendid you guys are."

"Do come!" said Chaos. "We'll speak to hear about that and she'll probably arrange it for you."

"Well then, let's have a break tonight. Then we'll head back to Ponyville tomorrow," said Rainbow Dash.

That night, Bloodthirst slept peacefully, thinking about his heroic deed, and his determination to train better… 


	11. Chapter 11

_The events beginning this chapter take place two weeks after the end of_ The Inheritors of Friendship _._

Melody Aurora was in the castle library, sorting out the books as usual. Bloodthirst was helping out.

"Over there, please, thank you," Melody said. "Pepper Flake was right. You really worked without fuss."

"Hehe, I know," replied Bloodthirst. "You know, until know I still can't really believe on that latest title."

"It's an honor, actually," replied Melody. "Really, not many of our ponykind get to receive and enjoy this title. It's really hard to achieve it, let alone a hard job to maintain and keep your reputation."

"I see about that."

"Really harder especially when somepony's a princess," added Spike. "The perk is, many ponies can get to recognize you, even those haters."

"Like, seriously?" asked Bloodthirst, squinting.

"C'mon, you know that… uh-oh, ah, AH…"

"Oh no!" exclaimed Melody, and quickly cast a barrier upon the books as well as herself and Bloodthirst. Just as Spike burped, the dragon breath flickered everywhere.

Just as the flames disappeared, they saw a letter flutter down to the ground.

"It's Princess Celestia!" remarked Melody. "What is she trying to tell me or Mom?"

"Just read it and see…" said Bloodthirst.

Melody levitated the letter. Spiked joined with them.

"Dear Princess Melody Aurora," she read out. "It is with great pleasure that I am cordially inviting you, your family and your friends to attend the engagement ceremony of your brother, Prince Orion Galaxy and Honey Drops on the weekend… What!? My brother's… engagement ceremony!?"

"Yes, Melody?" Twilight came over as she heard her daughter's cries.

"We're going to an engagement party!" cried Melody as she showed her the letter.

"*gasp* Is it?" she asked, taking the letter over. Together, they read the rest of the letter.

 _I know that you will be as excited as you are upon reading this letter. I sure do know too that this is another good way to celebrate this peaceful moment. You are encouraged to invite your friends to come over and help out with the preparations. I have also sent invitations to the Crystal Empire, Griffonstone, Yakyakistan and the Dragon Lands on the upcoming ceremony. I hope that the engagement ceremony goes on without a hitch, and I'm looking forward to welcome everyone to this joyous occasion. See you all very soon. Yours, Princess Celestia._

"My gosh," beamed Twilight Sparkle with glee. "This is truly amazing…"

"Err, Princess Twilight, are you being carried away?" asked Bloodthirst.

"Oh, sorry," she spoke to him. "But this is the pride of a mother, seeing my children growing up every day, and then meet the ponies of their dreams…"

Melody could only blush and giggle. "I guess it's time to tell our friends," she said.

On noon the next day, everyone was on their way to Canterlot. Along the way, everyone chattered happily.

"I just can't believe it," beamed Thunder Clash. "Orion's gonna be married soon, I'm so hyped to even think about it!"

"Hello," said Fiji Appleoak sarcastically. "You've been saying this dozens of times after Melody Aurora's ceremony. Don't you think everypony around will get bored listening to this?"

"Hey come on, don't say like that," retorted Pizza Frenzy calmly. "At least, he'll never stop saying this until he really is tired of it."

"Of course, you two are besties, you know each other well," remarked Beryl. "I always see the both of you together most of the time, of course, sometimes I don't see you two together, particularly the time when Thunder Clash went hiking to Griffonstone…"

"Yeah, those scones sure look tasty," Peanut Butter said. "How wish I can get to there everyday for them…"

"In your dreams!" laughed Raisin Brandy. "But seriously, I wish scones can be sold in Ponyville…"

"I got that covered actually," replied Twilight Sparkle. "Gilda wrote to me. She said that she'll be supplying scones in packets to be sold in grocery stores."

"Amazing," beamed Pepper Flake. "I want to taste them as well…"

"Actually you should give credit to me," said Pinkie Pie. "I was the one who improved the quality, with a piece of friendship!"

"Yeah, I can agree with that," added Rainbow Dash. "You know, Gilda was supposed to be a meanie with us, but now, she's friends with us again."

"I am still amazed by the fact that she's the mayor of Griffonstone now," added Greenie. "Her children were nice, too."

"Maybe," pipped in Malinae. "They can visit us someday?"

"Perhaps they will," replied Applejack.

"Don't worry. They're invited too to the engagement ceremony," assured Twilight. "You'll get the chance to meet them."

"Wow, this is making me super-duper excited!" exclaimed Sonic Flash, and everypony laughed.

At the front end of the coach, Bloodthirst sat looking out of the window. Platinum Royale noticed him, and approached him.

"Come talk with us," she began. "You know you can't just isolate yourself. Others will think that you're weird."

"It's not that I'm weird," he sighed. "I must find more answers about my clan's history. I've searched everywhere in Princess Twilight's library but there's no answer!"

"This is bad," Melody sympathized. "Maybe, you can try out your luck in Canterlot. The library there should probably give you some clues."

"I think so," he replied. "But with you guys trying to help out on the engagement ceremony I don't think there's time for me to search about it."

This made both Melody and Platinum feel unsure.

"We'll see what we can do," said Melody. "Perhaps Princess Celestia can exempt you for this."

Soon the train arrived at Canterlot. Everyone quickly alighted, and made their way to the castle. Princess Celestia was waiting for them.

"Good timing," she said to the group. "I am very pleased that all of you can make it to do the preparations."

"May we see how's everything prepared?" asked Twilight.

"Sure. Follow me."

They all came to the usual ballroom where the Grand Galloping Gala was usually held. Its decorations were halfway through, with decorators putting up royal banners and buntings.

"So… majestic," gasped Pepper.

"How grand it is…" said Soarin.

"We are beginning the engagement ceremony in two days. Within this period, you are kindly reminded to help watch over and assist in the preparations."

"Yes, Your Majesty!" said Greenie Hats.

"We'll do exactly as you wanted," promised Prudence Aura.

"That's very good." She then turned to Bloodthirst. "It's a pleasure meeting you again, Bloodthirst. Melody Aurora has been writing to me on your livings. Have you been learning a lot?"

"Yes, Princess," he replied.

"There's something troubling him lately, Princess," said Platinum. "He wants to know more about his clan's past, but there is little or no knowledge we can find."

"I see," said Celestia. "I am actually giving break times for you while helping with the preparations. You can check out the castle library afterwards, if you have the time. Princess Twilight or Prince Orion can show you the way. I think it may shed some light on your past. I'm interested to know it too, but sadly, since that great rebellion, the entire clan of vampire ponies soon began to go extinct, and all the records kept were slowly disappearing. As a result, nopony today really knows about the history of the vampire pony clan, or even their society."

"That's terrible, actually," said Melody.

"There's only one way to recover all the information. But not many ponies know of the vampire ponies. Therefore, this recovery process is difficult."

"I see about that…" murmured Chaos Control.

"However, I believe there might be some detailed records kept in my archives. Therefore, if you have the time, you may enter the castle library to search the information you wanted."

"Thanks, Princess."

"In the meantime, I have to help the arrangements for the ceremony." She turned to Twilight and her friends. "Twilight, and all of you, come with me. We're going to discuss about the ceremony schedule."

"Right, Princess," said Twilight as they all leave.

"Well actually," began Chaos. "Princess Celestia does have a point. I don't really see anyone knowing Bloodthirst's ancestry."

"That's true," agreed Melody. "If we can't find any clue we'll be like missing something from a pack!"

"I really hope there is a miracle," said Bloodthirst. "I really am desperate to put an end to my doubts."

"We sure will," promised Platinum. "For now managing the preparations is the hard thing."

"How about getting to the castle gardens?" asked Melody. "I was thinking of taking a stroll."

"Sounds pacifying. Let's go," agreed Chaos.

The four strolled at the garden, enjoying the flora everywhere. Soon, at a corner, they found Orion Galaxy, with Honey Drops and talking to Meadow Charm, leader of the female royal guards.

"Orion!" called Melody as she rushed over to hug him.

"Hey, Melly," he replied, stroking her head. "You guys came!"

"I would say, congrats on your engagement ceremony!" Chaos told them.

"Thank you!" beamed Honey Drops. "It's still a long way to our marriage. We have plenty of things to arrange, apart from the Grand Galloping Gala in a few months."

"She's right," added Meadow Charm. "This is going to be a period of excitement for us, with a number of huge celebrations in a row. Princess Melody, again, your own ceremony was an extravaganza!"

"Heh-heh, I know," she giggled. "I was quite proud to help restore peace in Equestria."

"You should keep your pride and reputation shining," said Honey Drops. "Don't tarnish it badly!"

"She knows exactly what to do!" said Platinum. "She's my friend, after all!"

Everyone laughed.

"Why don't we have some lunch at the royal dining room?" Orion asked. "You guys must be tired after a long journey. You probably deserve some treat."

"That sounds brilliant!" agreed Chaos. "I was looking for something to pacify my hunger, too!"

Soon everyone was at the dining room. As everyone else chattered, Orion sat next to Bloodthirst.

"So," he began. "How was your experience after a few months staying? My sister has written to Princess Celestia on your daily actions, and I have read some of them as well."

"Everything's normal. I made lots of junior friends, I found a part-time job, I participated in several adventures. It's just that something's been bothering me lately."

"What is?"

"Ever since my expedition with Rainbow Dash and Chaos Control, I've always been wondering on the history of my clan. I've searched the library, but so far, there's nothing I have found."

"I see about that. Don't worry. The ceremony's only on the day after tomorrow. You can still have time to get into the castle library to do some research. I'm sure Princess Celestia has given you the light to enter the library."

"Yeah, she told me."

"In the meantime, I would like to take you to visit somepony my sister and I know well."

"Really? Who is it?"

"She's the librarian of the library in Canterlot, and also my mom's old friend. Everypony calls her Madam Moon Dancer. She knows me and my sister well, and so does her entire family. Her husband even served as the royal guard. He apparently knows my father well, too."

"Have you told her about me?"

"Yes, they knew, they asked me by chance, on how my sister's living there. Madam Moon Dancer says she is eager to meet you as well, so I'm taking you to see her later in the afternoon."

"Is she fine?"

"Mom says she used to be grumpy," explained Melody. "After an incident to make up with her lost party, she began to be more socialized."

"This is interesting. I wonder how would she greet me…?"


	12. Chapter 12

At tea break, Orion Galaxy led Bloodthirst the way to Moon Dancer's house.

"I guess you must be lucky to enjoy all those perks," said Bloodthirst as they left the palace.

"It depends on the situation actually," Orion replied. "At certain conditions I'm actually not allowed to leave the palace grounds."

"I see about that…"

They entered into one of Canterlot's humble neighborhoods. Elsewhere, the ponies were talking and doing their daily activities. They stopped to greet Orion along the way.

Soon they came to a sturdy house. It was well quiet.

"Here we are," said Orion. "We're at Moon Dancer's house."

"Can I knock the door?"

"Sure, just be careful. They don't really like rough visitors."

Very gently and quietly, Bloodthirst tapped the door three times. But there was no response. He tapped slightly harder.

"I'm coming! Who's that?" The voice of a mare called. They could hear hoofsteps approaching the entrance. As the door opened, it revealed a purplish-light ultramarine unicorn mare about Bloodthirst's age, with maple red-striped hair, and had it tied to the top.

"Uh, who are you?" she asked.

"Err, well, I'm… are you… Moon Dancer?" he stammered nervously.

"What?"

"That's not Moon Dancer. That's her daughter, Star Dancer!" laughed Orion.

"Prince Orion! There you are!" Star Dancer called. "Do you know who's this?"

"Star! Who's that?" Before Orion could answer, the voice of a stallion called, and then he appeared. To Bloodthirst's surprise, he looked almost like Star Dancer, but his hair was in dark magenta, lavender and purple, and he had purple eyes as opposed to Star's golden yellow eyes. Their cutie marks were different, too. Star had three sparkling stars, while the stallion had three purple lightning bolts in parallel.

"Nerdy, aren't you supposed to be reading? Why are you following me here?"

"Stop calling me Nerdy!" the stallion retorted. "We have a guest here, or what?"

"It's too bad that you're a busypony," Star teased, sticking out her tongue.

"P-please, you two… don't have to argue like that," said Bloodthirst, who was nervous seeing two of the house's occupants arguing. "If you two are siblings, you should love each other…"

"Huh?"

"How did you know that we are… siblings?" asked Star.

"He's new to our community," explained Orion. "Bloodthirst, he's Star's twin brother, Thunder Arc. And you guys, this is Bloodthirst, the vampire pony."

The twins stared at him.

"So, that's him?" asked Star Dancer.

"The vampire pony Prince Orion's been talking about?" added Thunder Arc.

"Y-yes, a-and I… I-"

"He means no harm, guys," Orion finished for him.

"No harm? B-but…" said Thunder.

"See? You're always nervous like that. You deserved to be called Nerdy," Star teased.

"OH COME ON!"

"Star Dancer, Thunder Arc, who's at the door?" Another mare's voice called, and appeared at the door. She was in yellow, and had her hair color similar to Thunder Arc's. It was Moon Dancer. Moon Dancer showed only slight signs of age, yet she still had her kind and compassionate personality.

"Oh, Orion!" she called. "You really did come. You've brought your little guest along, didn't you?"

"Yes, here he is!" he introduced.

"Err, hi, Madam Moon Dancer," Bloodthirst said embarrassingly.

"You must be Bloodthirst, I guess?" Moon Dancer beamed. "I've heard about you from what my children talked with Orion."

"R-really?"

"Orion must've told you already, didn't he?"

"Y-yes…"

"He's got a lot more to learn, Madam," added Orion. "All he needs is just socializing so that he can learn more about the Magic of Friendship."

"Ooh, come in, come in!" she welcomed. "I have some nice treats while we can talk!"

Once inside, everyone settled down. Bloodthirst was introduced to Moon Dancer's husband Lightning. He was a handsome, light ultramarine stallion with golden hair.

"So that's you," Lightning spoke. "I've heard of you from Dancy and my children. Prince Orion even tells me about the special case of yours."

"Uh, yeah," said Bloodthirst. "But, how did you and Madam first meet?"

"He happens to be a close friend of Prince Orion's father," explained Moon Dancer. "And he happened to marry Twilight, who was my old friend."

"Uncle Lightning knows me well," said Orion. "As Dad's close friend he gave me moral support. He worked with Dad in the Crystal Empire before, and after Mom and Dad married, he was transferred back to Canterlot. He was the one who offered good advice to me when I trained hard."

"I was indeed sad when I learnt that Flash perished," said Lightning in a moody tone. "I remember those days since we were young, we used to hang out with each other. I was training with magic once, when I fell and broke my leg, he went to alert my parents. Just as I trained hard enough, and I got my cutie mark, I joined the royal forces with Flash. Those times we used to train with each other."

"I can indeed imagine how Twilight and the rest of her family must have felt when Flash died," Moon Dancer continued. "I remember visiting Twilight in the hospital. Orion was there, he cried as he hugged me, saying how he missed his father."

"Madam Moon Dancer was really kind," Orion said, with tears in his eyes. "Mom told me, she and many others offered financial support to our family."

"I see about that," responded Bloodthirst. "Then how did Prince Orion get to know your children?"

"Has Princess Melody Aurora told you on the time she began to study under Princess Celestia when she was five?"

"Uh, I have, small ideas of it, I guess…"

"Both Princess Melody and Prince Orion were enrolled in the School for Gifted Unicorns," Moon Dancer continued her story. "Which was me and Twilight's alma mater."

"I remember the first time I met Princess Melody and her brother," reminisced Thunder Arc. "I was in my first year. I was having my book and walking and I didn't look at where I was going, then I bumped onto some senior colts. They threatened and extorted me because they thought that all I could do was to read and do nothing else. That's when Orion came. I remember he shouted, 'What's going on!?' and he came to my direction. The bullies look like they were terrified to see somepony royal coming and ran away."

"I saw what happened, and I tried to find out what really happened," Orion continued. "But then the colts all ran away like mice seeing a cat coming. I approached him. He didn't look at all hurt, he was frightened. As I checked on him, he told me that he was on his way to the school library, but he couldn't find his way, and was embarrassed if his sister would find out and laugh at him."

Bloodthirst glanced at Star Dancer. She was secretly giggling, and Thunder Arc seemed to feel annoyed as if sensing his sister mocking him.

"I took him to the library, and once I entered, my sister was in there as well," Orion continued. "She asked who he was, and we introduced with each other."

"I quickly got to know Melody and her brother," said Thunder. "We talked a lot, and we exchanged our thoughts. I quickly got to know about palace life, and how Ponyville was like. What made me mind-blown was when we revealed who our mothers are, and they happen to be friends, too."

"Then it was time for him to return to Canterlot library so that he can find his mother. He expressed his fear that he might meet the bullies again, so we offered to escort him to there."

"When I saw him coming, with two foals along his side, I was rather surprised," said Moon Dancer. "What made me surprised more that Thunder Arc told me that he's the children of Twilight Sparkle!"

"I was quite surprised, too," said Star Dancer. "I thought he invited some eggheads here, but my mind was really blown when he told us their true identity."

"Hey, I told you already, they're not eggheads," moaned Thunder with disgust.

"From that time on, they began to be one of my frequent customers," Moon Dancer continued, ignoring them. "Whether it's just a normal day after school, I would see them visit regularly, borrowing books to be read in the castle, or stay and talk with Thunder until the time I close the library to end business for the day. They would sometimes visit our house and we paid host to them."

"Do you actually miss Melody when she err, moved back to live in Ponyville?" Bloodthirst asked again.

"We do, sometimes," said Lightning. "When Melody told us on moving back to Ponyville soon, she did mention that she'll miss us all, and promised to keep in touch with us. Sometimes, when we visit Ponyville to visit some of Dancy's old friends, we still see Melody, hanging out with her friends in Ponyville."

"From her laughter, and her smiles, I can tell she's already suited to her life in Ponyville," added Moon Dancer. "She doesn't seem to show any worry, from what I think, and what Twilight described to me."

"And from that time on, Orion didn't really show up lately," Thunder Arc resumed. "At first I don't know why. Then Dad told me Orion was training to be a royal guard. He intended to follow his father's hoofsteps. I felt proud of him, but at the same time I felt worried. I felt that he would overwork himself, and put up some stress on him. At some times I didn't really meet him for an entire month."

"I just don't have the time to visit Madam Moon Dancer and my family in Ponyville at that time," Orion continued to relate. "Other than Uncle Shining Armor and his family visiting. I could only study in the castle library or in mine or Princess Celestia's room. As my trainings get to be more and more harsh, there's barely enough time for me to visit my family and friends." He sighed as he said.

"When we learnt that he nearly risked his life to save the princesses, we paid him a visit," Moon Dancer said. "From that time he began to visit us more often again, and we'd see him in Ponyville, too."

"He was one good friend and senior I can remember," said Thunder Arc. "And so was Melody. I'm always frustrated when I can't even complete my homework. Luckily they would come and help me."

"One thing I want to know," Bloodthirst asked. "Why do you two… like to quarrel with each other?"

"Thunder's a nerd and an egghead," Star answered. "All he does every day is study and nothing else, and it's really boring for me, and I hate mathematics by the way. Besides, he looks funny when he's annoyed."

"Is that enough?" Thunder Arc snapped. "I'm not a stick-in-the-mud as you think!"

"See? This makes me wanna call you Nerdy."

"Alright, enough!" commanded Moon Dancer. Instantly, the twins went quiet, with Thunder glaring at his mother fearfully. She went on, "I'm sorry about that, Bloodthirst. They've been arguing almost like that."

"But don't you have any siblings?" Star asked him. "Do they love you?"

"Uh, um, I…"

"He doesn't have any siblings," Orion answered for him. "He was orphaned since he was ten, so he didn't really experience much love from a true family."

There was silence. They could see Bloodthirst shedding tears quietly. Moon Dancer gently wiped his tears away.

"I'm sorry to hear about your situation," Moon Dancer said gently. "Are siblings a taboo subject for you?"

"I-it's not," he sniffled. "It's… it's just that, when Orion said I was orphaned, all those sad memories… came into my mind…"

"He was manipulated by his evil uncle into killing innocent beings," Orion continued to explain. "Then he repented, and escaped to Ponyville, where he sought shelter at Rarity's house, and they adopted him."

"That's when my life began to change," said Bloodthirst as he recovered. "Platinum Royale and her entire family and friends took care of me nicely, treating me as if I'm their little brother."

"I see," responded Lightning. "You don't have a true family, yet you are mature enough to understand that affection runs in families!"

This made Star Dancer and Thunder Arc feel ashamed. They felt awful for arguing with each other, not realizing that some others have lost a part of their families in their lives.

"One more thing," Bloodthirst spoke. "Are you coming for Orion's engagement ceremony?"

"Of course I am," smiled Moon Dancer. "To show my support to him, of course!"

"Which reminds me, I think it's time for us to return to the palace to help in the preparations," Orion said, getting up. "I'll see you at the party!"

"Send my regards to your fiancée, old boy," bade Lightning. Then he turned to Bloodthirst. "It was nice knowing you, kid."

"Do come and visit us again if you have time!" said Star Dancer. "Or we can probably drop by yours if we're visiting Ponyville!"

"I will. Thanks for your hospitality!"

On their way back to the palace, Bloodthirst asked.

"Does Lightning still work as a royal guard?"

"Yes, he does, but not as often nowadays," came the reply. "Older guards are usually given more time to rest because of their age."

Late that night, in one of the castle rooms…

Bloodthirst lay down on his bed, remembering the conversation he had with Moon Dancer and her family. Chatting with them made him forgot about finding the history of his own clan's past briefly, but it suddenly surfaced to his mind again.

"I must find it… I must find my answers tomorrow…!"

He slowly drifted to sleep.

Soon his dream began as usual, on the flowery meadow he stood.

He sat among the flowers, deep in thought when he heard a stallion's voice.

"What you're thinking, sonny boy?"

"Dad?" Instantly he straightened up, turned back to find a stallion that looked almost like him, except that his fur color was darker than his, and his hair was longer and in a different style.

He ran towards him, hugging him with all his might, with tears of joy trickling down.

"It's been a while, Bloodthirst."

"I missed you so much, Dad!" he said. "I was expecting Mom, but it was you!"

"Your mother told me that it's time for me to see you," his father told him. "You must be missing me so much after not meeting for eight years, and you really did."

"I really am missing. You know, just like Mom, there's a lot of things I need to tell you…"

"Well, what would you like to talk about? History of our own vampire pony kind?"

"How did you know what I was thinking?"

"I met a friend in the afterlife. He told me that he's watching everyone from above, and he can see what everyone else is thinking."

"Really?"

"Yes, he knows everypony well. Now, I'm going to tell you everything that holds the great histories and secrets of our clan…"

(Special thanks to KrixStrix787 for giving me permission to use his characters!)


	13. Chapter 13

The day of the ceremony arrived.

By evening, the ballroom was already packed with many of the ponies from Canterlot, with some other guests on their way.

Bloodthirst was with Melody Aurora. They were waiting for Shining Armor and his family to arrive from the Crystal Empire. She was tasked in ushering them.

"Excited in meeting them?" she asked him.

"Err, yeah, kinda," he stammered. "Though I never actually met them in pony, although they came once for the decision for the Equestria Games…"

"Now that's your chance. Feeling enthusiastic yet?"

"Yes, I'll be, I'll be." He was quite worried. His late father had warned him in his dream, "On the night of the ceremony will be an intruder of unique strength, but will be powerless when an artifact of his is disorientated. The one who can defeat him is you yourself." He wasn't sure. What could possibly go wrong on such a grand celebration? And even if he didn't know the strength of the enemy, how could he defeat him single-hoofedly?

His thoughts were immediately interrupted by the train's whistle. The train from the Crystal Empire had arrived. Stepping out of the coach was Shining Armor and Princess Cadance, then their children, Flurry Heart, Paladin Knight and Mistral Violet.

"Glad to see you arrive in time, Uncle Shiny," greeted Melody.

"I'm glad to see you here, too," replied Shining Armor.

"Indeed it is a pleasure," said Cadance. "I'm happy to see you again, Bloodthirst. I hope your relationship with everypony is going well, especially with Platinum Royale."

"Yes, we are," said Bloodthirst. Talking with the royals from the Crystal Empire momentarily made him forget about what would happen next.

"Our cousin Orion has written to us on your development," Flurry Heart said to him. "I'm pretty interested to talk to you in pony. You're indeed special."

"He's as special as Melody's coltfriend, Sister," said Mistral Violet.

"He's my trainer," Bloodthirst added.

"Whoa, cool! I should probably ask you to be my bodyguard or something. Just kidding, heh-heh," said Paladin Knight jokingly.

"I would like to introduce to you our personal magic advisor," Flurry Heart moved away to reveal the wizard Sunburst, along with his wife Starlight Glimmer, and a yellow, purple-haired stallion with orange hooves, who was their son.

"Hullo, Melody," Starlight greeted. "I must say, congratulations on your brother's engagement!"

"Thanks, Madam Starlight. Mom told me she was expecting you greatly."

"Oh, that's a pleasure," replied Sunburst. He turned to Bloodthirst. "You're Bloodthirst, aren't you? Flurry Heart's cousins have written to us about you."

"He's a nice gentlecolt, I must say," complimented Starlight.

"Well, actually, I'm… still learning," Bloodthirst replied.

"He's still quite new to our community," elaborated Melody.

"New, eh?" asked the stallion.

"Indeed he is, Solar Shine," Starlight replied. "In fact Melody admits he looks scary, but he's on the good side when you get to know him long enough."

"Well anyway," Shining Armor continued. "Care to show us to our seats?"

"Sure, no problem. Come with me!"

Together, they escorted the entire family to the ballroom. Twilight Sparkle was waiting.

"Good to see you in time, Shining Armor," Twilight spoke.

"We are gladly," replied Shining. "It's good to see this family growing. Where's my handsome nephew by the way?"

"Talking with Princess Celestia right now. He'll be here shortly," said Twilight.

"Perhaps we can talk to him," said Cadance. "Twilight, will you take us to where he is? Kids, please follow Melody to your table."

"Alright, Mom," said Mistral.

"Well then, just follow me," guided Melody, and they left, leaving Bloodthirst and Spike at the entrance.

"Why aren't you following them?" Bloodthirst asked.

"Well, you know," explained Spike. "I'm waiting for someone, some dragon."

"Dragon? Who's that?"

"Wait and see. She's the ruler of all dragons! That's called a Dragon Lord."

"Did you say… she?"

"Yep, she's different from the previous Dragon Lords. Wait and see."

They waited for five minutes. Soon they could see several figures in the air, and they all touched down in front of the entrance. Standing in the middle was Dragon Lord Ember, clad in her formal attire. Despite her physically matured after many years, she still retained the personality she had ever since she met Spike.

"Phew!" she sighed after touching down. "Am I late?"

"Nope, you're right on time," said Spike as he approached her.

"Oh, Spike!" she exclaimed, hugging him. "I don't always see you, but in my heart you're a young little dragon growing every day!"

"Welp, you always say that," he said embarrassingly.

"You two do know each other?" Bloodthirst asked.

"Oh, who are you?" Ember noticed Bloodthirst. "I've never seen a pony like you before."

"Well, he's different from the others," said Spike.

"Lord Ember! There you are!" Twilight called, having returned from taking her brother to meet Orion Galaxy.

"Hi, Princess Twilight," greeted Ember. "Congratulations on your son's engagement! I'm here to send my regards, representing the dragons."

"Thanks," responded Twilight. "I know, you're excited as I am for this ceremony."

"Heh-heh, I know. Can you take me to my table by the way?"

"Sure, this way!"

"She's so nice!" exclaimed Bloodthirst. "You know, I used to think many dragons are cruel, brutal creatures."

"That's the concept everyone used to think before Ember succeeded her father," explained Melody as they walked back to the ballroom. "Mom told me that he and all dragons participated in a competition for the new Dragon Lord called the Gauntlet of Fire."

"Technically I was supposed to be the Dragon Lord," Spike continued. "I didn't want any other dragons to pose a threat to my pony friends, that's why I took part. Ember should be the true Dragon Lord, she's a princess, after all."

"The Gauntlet of Fire… what's that all about?"

"We'll tell you after the end of the party," said Melody. "Right now I need to look for my friends from Canterlot…"

As they looked around, they noticed something.

"Hullo! Melody! Over here!" Star Dancer's voice could be heard. As they turned around, they could see her waving her hoof. She was seated with Thunder Arc and the rest of her friends from Canterlot.

"Well, it's about time I need to talk with them. In the meantime, enjoy the meal!" She said as she rushed off.

"Alright, take care," said Bloodthirst.

"How about looking for your friends now?" asked Spike.

"Yeah, I was wondering where they could be…"

"There you are!" Beryl called, appearing in front of him. "We've been wondering where you've been!"

"I was with Melody," he explained. "She err, introduced to me some royals."

"Tell us about everything on our table, alright? Where's Melody by the way?"

"Um, off to see her Canterlot friends."

"Hmm, okay. Then come with me. Spike, can you go help Princess Twilight?"

"Alright, then. At least, I got nothing to do right now…"

In the next hour the dinner went underway. Guests gathered at tables, chatting and talking. Waiters served the meals at the tables. Everything ran like clockwork. However, throughout the dinner, Bloodthirst still felt uneasy. Despite telling everyone on his meetings with the royals, yet he was still worried on the arriving foe.

"Bloodthirst," asked Prudence Aura halfway through their meal. "Are you alright? You don't seem to have some appetite at all…"

"Err, yeah, I'm fine," he said hastily. "I'm just enjoying the meal nicely, eh-heh-heh…"

"You don't seem like to be the mood," Beryl resumed. "Is it because we couldn't find anything about your clan yesterday?"

"It's not that, it's…"

"Come on, tell us," pleaded Platinum Royale. "We're your friends, we trust you."

"It's… it's just that… I have a bad feeling, something bad's gonna happen."

At once, everyone on the table went silent.

"Did you say… something bad?" Raisin Brandy asked.

"Bad? Pah," snorted Thunder Clash. "What else could go wrong in this one?"

"That's nonsense," added Pizza Frenzy. "Parties usually go well. How can there be a catastrophe or something?"

"Uh, y'know, he may be right," Pepper Flake interrupted.

"Say what?" asked Fiji Appleoak.

"My body's shaaaaakiiiinng like craaaazzyyyyyy," she stuttered. "That's my Pepper Sense, something reeeaaaallll bad's gonna happen."

"Seriously?" asked Greenie Hats.

"Ain't just bad, it's waaayyyyy dooooozyyyyyyy…"

Before any one of them could answer, suddenly, there was a loud crash outdoors, followed by a few cries from the royal guards. It startled everypony inside.

A few booms followed, accompanied by slight tremors in the ballroom. The ballroom door then burst open, and to everyone's horror, stood a tall, ferocious orange dragon, and he wore golden wristbands around his claws. He gave a loud roar.

"It's Icarex the dragon bandit!" exclaimed Ember.

"What are you doing here gatecrashing my engagement dinner!?" thundered Orion Galaxy.

"You know what I am for," came the reply. "I demand all of the castle's valuables!"

"Seize him!" commanded Shining Armor to the guards.

At once, the guards flashed to apprehend the dragon bandit. But then, Icarex raised one of his arms, and without warning, all were suddenly raised upwards, and it was so violent that all hit the ceiling with a thud, and all fell to the floor, groaning.

All the guests watched and gasped in horror. The next moment, strange energy forces emerged from the floor, clutching and trapping their hooves like plunderseed vines from the Everfree Forest and they all couldn't move.

The foals in the ballroom cried in fear. Their parents wondered desperately as they tried to comfort them.

"You cannot defeat the Great Icarex!" he roared. "Right now, I demand everything that's valuable, from all those great jewels to your ancestors' valuables!"

"All of these mean everything to the kingdom!" argued Princess Luna. "You cannot take them!" But then a magical force zapped her and the next thing everyone knew, her mouth was sealed shut by Icarex's magic.

"No arguments, and no tricks," warned Icarex. "I repeat, I demand EVERYTHING."

"Y-yes, we know," said Celestia fearfully. "We'll give you everything, as long as you don't harm my subjects…"

At once, the magical forces that trap them vanished, and like slaves, she and the royals seated headed to the treasure room.

"Hurry up!" Icarex commanded. "Don't make me see you making an escape plan!"

He turned to the crowd as he spoke.

"Just to let you know, puny ponies," he sniggered. "I have been planning on this grand robbery, after many years of being a bandit robbing anypony who passes. You may have forgotten who I am, but I am actually against this silly concept of being friends with ponies!"

Ember was enraged. She wanted to argue back, but was horrified by what Icarex had done to Princess Luna.

"I've been planning this intrusion for many months. I had many of my spies working for me, keeping track on the security…"

As Icarex continued his speech, Bloodthirst looked, and wondered. Then, he remembered his dream. His father's predictions were right after all! Then he remembered what his father told him more about their clan…

"Ponies would use to think that we are like the vampire ponies from the traditional stories, in fact we are different from their concept. We are almost indestructible, physical attacks from ponies, including magic, or holy items, garlic or stakes, cannot harm and destroy us."

"Then what else can?"

"Those from our own kind can only inflict injuries to us. For normal ponies and other beings, their method to destroy us is to cut our bodies up and burn them before the body parts reconnect back. Apart from this, one day, ponies will invent a potential weapon that can wipe us out…"

"That's scary…"

"Well, in any case that won't happen to you. Besides, these are the abilities that help you to survive any potential attack…"

Immediately Bloodthirst realized. If his father had told him that he had these traits, that could only mean one thing: he's the only one who can face him!

"Bloodthirst," Platinum Royale whispered to him. "What's with that face? Aren't you scared?"

"It's not that I'm scared, it's just…"

"What are you talking about?" Beryl asked.

"Beryl, I dreamt about my father two days ago!"

"Your father!?" blurted Chaos Control. "What did he tell you?"

"He told me some things about my clan, and what's going to happen tonight, and I'm the only one who can beat him."

"Really!?" cried Greenie Hats, but Platinum cautioned her. "Then why don't you defeat that monster now?"

"I have to wait for the right moment! I mustn't let hell break loose!"

Soon the royals laid a huge pile of treasures and valuables in front of Icarex. However, he seemed displeased.

"Just these? Anymore?"

"Th-this is all we had," said Twilight. "The rest, w-we had to get to the main castle."

"Then what are you doing? Go there now!"

"You really think we can give everything in this castle?" Melody asked suddenly.

"What?"

All of a sudden, Melody fired a magic blast straight towards Icarex in a vain attempt to take him down. But fast as lightning, he deflected the blast, and Melody ended up being knocked out cold.

As the royals looked at her aghast, the entire ballroom let out cries and gasps.

"Melody!" shouted Chaos.

"What have you done to our friend!?" growled Greenie.

"SILENCE!" roared Icarex. "As I said, those with tricks will end up like her!"

"Well you won't do that to me!" declared Bloodthirst.

"What did you say!?" Icarex turned to Bloodthirst.

"You're mine!" With all his might, Bloodthirst broke free from the energy forces, and charged towards him, dashing through the still-trapped guests.

Seeing one victim already free, Icarex tried to trap him back, but just moments Bloodthirst was trapped again, he broke free again. He rose into the air.

"You may be powerful," challenged Bloodthirst. "But I doubt you've never faced an opponent like me!"

Icarex was startled at his little victim.

"Y-you…!" he stared at his enemy, and snarled. "Very well, let me see how powerful you are…"

"Bring it on!" accepted Bloodthirst as he charged straight towards him. He was about to punch Icarex but he grabbed his body and pounded him onto the floor.

The guests gasped, but before they knew it, Bloodthirst got up, recovered and charged back towards him, firing his eye lasers. Icarex blocked and deflected them back, but Bloodthirst swiftly avoided them. He levitated him and banged him sharply to the ground. Again, Bloodthirst quickly got up, and continued to battle. As many times as Icarex tried to defeat Bloodthirst, he still got up, and relentlessly tried to fight back.

The guests watched in awe. They have never seen somepony like him facing a ferocious being.

"Wow…" gasped Greenie. "He's tough."

"Does he have a lot of stamina or something?" asked Thunder Clash. "There doesn't seem to be a scratch or bruise on his body."

"I can't even let go of my breath…" Platinum said worriedly.

"To think that he dreamt about his father two days ago," said Chaos. "Telling him everything about his clan…"

"His father?" asked Prudence.

"Yeah, yesterday we couldn't even find a single thing or clue in the castle library," he continued. "He didn't even tell us about his dream either."

"Why didn't he tell?" asked Beryl.

"That's what I need ask him after this. For now I'm concerned about Melody."

"She's really hurt from that impact," remarked Malinae.

"Apart from this I noticed something about Icarex."

"What's that?" asked Pepper.

"I've been observing those wristbands around his wrists. It looks like they give him the power to trap us and attack. And the way he crosses them together, he's recharging them! I think Bloodthirst is trying to break the wristbands to capacitate him."

"At this rate, I don't think Bloodthirst can take him down. He's a tough enemy," said Fiji.

"He should, I trained him everything he needed."

The battle raged on. The bearers of Harmony looked on, still worried.

At another side, Moon Dancer, her old friends and Lightning looked on, worried.

"I can't believe he has such potential," Moon Dancer murmured.

"Like, where did he get that power from?" inquired Minuette. "He seems superpony."

Lightning silently watched, remembering what happened yesterday afternoon…

He was relaxing, reading his favorite novel in the garden, when suddenly, Thunder Arc called him.

"Dad!" he cried. "Bloodthirst is looking for you!"

"What?" He put down his book, and the next thing he knew, Bloodthirst had arrived.

"Bloodthirst? Why are you here for? Aren't you supposed to help with the preparations?"

"Mr Lightning," he said. "Please, shoot me."

"What!?"

"Shoot you!?" exclaimed Thunder Arc. "Why?"

"Just shoot me already!" he demanded.

"Alright, here…" Lightning concentrated, while Bloodthirst shut his eyes, preparing to take the blow.

Thunder watched, and just as Lightning launched the shot, he shut his eyes, too. When he opened them, he was surprised to see Bloodthirst unhurt!

Lightning was shocked, too. "You're… still standing!?"

Bloodthirst opened his eyes, and looked all around his body. "Gosh," he cried. "I really am invincible to pony attack!"

"Bloodthirst, what are you talking about?" Lightning asked, confused.

"I-it's a secret, please, don't tell anypony else, even Melody or Orion…"

The flashback ended, and Lightning watched the battle rage on.

"He really is of a different kind!" he thought to himself. "I need to know more, but how?"

Soon, both of them grew tired. Bloodthirst's smart dinner outfit was badly torn, but there was not even a wound on his body. They stared at each other, panting.

"Meh-heh-heh," said Icarex. "You sure are a tough rival after all."

"Nothing special," Bloodthirst replied. "You're just a fierce beast."

"Aha," he responded. "But I bet you've never seen my special move!"

But before he could act, something suddenly struck him from the back!

"Aargh! What was that!?"

The guests could see a figure appear and fly around.

Orion recognized the figure. "It's Dad!" he exclaimed.

"Melody's dad!?" Platinum cried.

"Horseapples! Didn't think Melody's father would come!" cried Chaos.

Flash Sentry perched in front of Bloodthirst.

"Battling hard, eh?" he asked him.

"I think I'm not. I must save this dinner!"

"Calm down, kid. You know, relying on your own abilities isn't enough. You need to know one thing about him in this battle."

"What is?"

"See those wristbands he's wearing? If we can break these he's defeated easily! I'm going to be your backup this time…"

"Wait, what, are you talking to somepony!?" Icarex exclaimed. Among everyone in the ballroom he could not see Flash.

"You'll never see him, but you can feel him!" said Bloodthirst, as Flash began swift attacks. Icarex tried to find him, but to no avail.

"Why can't I see him!? Is this meant to be a trick!?"

"Flash Sentry is somepony special who guides anypony he's familiar with!" declared Twilight. "A bandit like you will never see him!"

"What!?"

Then, without warning, Flash shoved Icarex from behind, at the same time commanding Bloodthirst.

"In his face, now!"

Bloodthirst charged. Icarex saw him coming, and used his arm to shield his face, but it was too late.

With all his might, Bloodthirst gave a massive headbutt to his arm, and with a crack, the magical wristband he was wearing shattered. After the impact, Bloodthirst fell to the ground, sprawling. Icarex was thrown across the floor.

At once, the magical forces that trapped the guests disappeared, freeing them. While Chaos and Beryl rushed over to Melody's aid, the rest went to check over Bloodthirst.

"Bloodthirst!" Platinum Royale cried as he struggled to get up. "Are you okay?"

"I'm… okay…" he replied as he felt his head.

"That headbutt was sure painful, wasn't it?" asked Prudence Aura.

"I thought my head's gonna burst," he said, bearing the pain. "Anyhow, I must check on Melody."

They all rushed over to where Melody was. She was still lying unconscious. Chaos was feeling her all over.

"How's she doing?" Twilight asked, concerned.

"She's okay, but I'm not sure how long will she be out cold," deduced Chaos.

"I'll check her out," Flash volunteered, and everypony stepped aside. Gently, he held her head and stroked her. Soon, she slowly opened her eyes.

"… Dad?" she asked.

"Oh, Melody, glad you're awake," Twilight cried, hugging her.

"What… happened? Where's Icarex?"

"Bloodthirst has saved the night for us again," remarked Princess Celestia, looking at Icarex's direction.

Icarex was trying to recover, and he was cross.

"Curses!" he groaned. "How… could I… lose… to… some… puny pony!? I've planned that all along! There's no way some stupid pony can-"

Before he could finish his sentence, magical forces suddenly appeared and trapped his claws and legs.

Ember had used her scepter to trap down Icarex. "It's no use complaining. It's time for you to face for your actions."

Icarex could only grunt as Ember's followers led him away.

"I was quite surprised at your appearance, Sir!" Platinum Royale told Flash. "You know, I was holding my breath for him!"

"No big deal. I only wanted to help him quicker," explained Flash. "Apart from this I know that Bloodthirst has been in deep thoughts for a long time, so I wanted to help."

"Help him? How?" asked Chaos.

"I was the one who foresaw Icarex going to ruin the big night, and that I foresaw how Bloodthirst can fight him, so I found his parents in the afterlife, and told him everything. Marigold scent said that it's time for her husband to see him now, so he offered to tell him what I've told him."

"But how did you know Bloodthirst can fight him?" asked Beryl. "And his abilities and everything?"

"It seems that those who tried to search on the history of vampire ponies yesterday may have overlooked something." He finished and produced an old book.

"A book on vampire ponies!?" blurted Melody. "Where did you find it?"

"Well I met a ghost named Silent Reader. She apparently followed you all to Canterlot to find books to read in the middle of the night. Also I know the dilemma Bloodthirst has been facing lately, so I wanted to help him."

"So you asked her to help find the book?" asked Orion.

"Yep, and we found it underneath a tile under a bookshelf. Somepony appeared to hide it underneath as a prank long ago, but he or she never got to get it out."

Everyone stood wide eyed on the trick the prankster made.

"I… don't know whether to laugh at that…" murmured Peanut Butter.

"Ugh, that prankster," said Celestia. "Anyway, I guess it's time for a reprint of the book, I suppose."

"Princess, can you lend it to us, first? Dad has found our ultimate answer that holds the origins to Bloodthirst's family!" Melody pleaded.

"Of course I'm lending you!" approved Celestia. "For one month. It should be enough for you to get the main clues."

"Bloodthirst," approached Orion to him. "You really saved my day again. I just… don't have the words to express my gratitude."

"You basically saved the entire night for us," congratulated Twilight.

"I really couldn't expect more from you, pal," added Discord.

"Bloodthirst is always everypony's Number One!" chirped Novella Fantasy.

At once, everypony shouted their praises to Bloodthirst.

"No big deal," Bloodthirst said as the cheers died down. "I must thank Chaos Control, he trained me. And if not for Melody and Orion's dad to help it would've been endless."

"You can join the royal guards!" suggested Princess Luna. "I've seen your brave spirit, good enough to defend the kingdom!"

"Thanks, but I don't need to," he turned down gracefully.

"Why not?" asked Cadance.

"Is it because of my story on being a royal guard?" asked Orion.

"I just need to learn more about friendship," he explained. "There's a lot more things I need to know, and be smart. I want to be the pony who I am."

"What a modest answer," said Starlight Glimmer. "Tell you a history, when Sunburst got his cutie mark I used to think cutie marks ruin friendship, so I founded a town where I unmarked everypony and made everypony equal, and I got beaten by Twilight, so I sought revenge on her. But now," she paused as she turned to Twilight, who was smiling. "I know friendship is more important than any stupid cutie unmarking act."

Bloodthirst was amazed.

"I… I never knew somepony who can unmark cutie marks!"

"I made sure she doesn't do that again," said Twilight. "Right now she's happier than before."

"You really gave us an amazing answer, Bloodthirst," praised Celestia. "I hope you'll learn more friendship nicely as Princess Twilight and Starlight does."

"I'm honestly impressed by your courage in battle," Meadow Charm said to him. "Princess Luna was right. We could've recruited you, but after all, you do have your own point."

"My heart nearly skipped a beat watching your combat," said Moon Dancer. "You really are splendid, as my children said."

"You know, Thunder and I wondered, were you a superpony, resisting attacks?" Lightning told him. "After witnessing everything I really wanted to know more about you."

"Lightning, my old friend!" called Flash. "You will soon, after one month!"

"Flash Sentry? Are you real?" Lightning approached, trying to feel him all over.

"I may not be, but I am!" he chuckled, holding his hoof. "It's good to see you and your family well."

"Aww, you never change," he said, and hugged him.

Twilight and Moon Dancer looked embarrassingly at each other as the others stared.

"Wow, are they so close?" asked Ember.

"You'll never know my dad. He's the pony who appears to refresh for your next day," said Orion. "Well, anyway, why don't we finish celebrating the night?"

"Aaand another celebration for Bloodthirst the hero!" shouted Pepper Flake as she and her brothers popped party poppers around him, making him blush.

"B-but I'm not so quick to rise to the fame," he said.

"You'll do fine, darling," Platinum assured him, kissing on his cheek. "This is just the beginning."

The celebration resumed, with Bloodthirst treasuring his pride.


	14. Chapter 14

One typical late morning at Sweet Apple Acres.

"Alrighty, anypony left?" Applejack asked as Raisin Brandy loaded the apples into the cart which Nikula Alder was mounted onto.

"Uh, I think there's Bloodthirst over there," Raisin replied, pointing to Bloodthirst's direction. He was balancing a basket of apples, with Malinae accompanying him.

"So, how you've been working? Been a few hours you're here," asked Fiji as Bloodthirst emptied the basket of apples into the cart.

"Eh, well, I'm doing great here," he replied. "At least, better than staying at home all day while waiting for every few days to work at Sugarcube Corner."

"Hey, Mom, just curious," she turned to her mother. "Why didn't you let him uh… do applebucking?"

"Well, y'know," said Applejack. "I got a reason behind this, but it's pretty hard for me to explain."

"Hey Bloodthirst," Apple Bloom called. "Just to be sure, can you try to buck that tree?" she said, pointing to an apple tree close to the fence.

"Alright, here I go…" he walked up to the tree, and taking a deep breath, he kicked the tree with his hind legs, but it was way too hard, and just as everyone witnessed, the tree fell down and crushed the fence with a crash, leaving their jaws wide open.

"Oops," murmured Sweet Potion.

"Okay, now I know why," Niku admitted. "I totally forgot about the incident back at the engagement party."

Bloodthirst could only look at the damage he'd done, speechless.

"I… I'll pay for it, I promise," he stammered to Applejack, but she didn't look at all cross.

"Nah, it's okay, Sugarcube," she told him. "At least that wasn't intentional."

At that moment a pink, maroon-haired earth pony mare came rushing towards them.

"What just happened?" she exclaimed before she saw the fallen tree. "Goodness! How did that fall?"

"Err, we wanted to see if he's capable of um, falling a tree, y'know," said Apple Bloom.

"Yeah, to see how strong he is," added Raisin.

"Who are you talking about?"

"I-it's me, you know," Bloodthirst admitted meekly.

"Huh? Who are you?" The mare was getting more and more puzzled.

"In case you don't know," began Applejack.

"He's Bloodthirst the vampire pony!" Malinae interrupted, finishing her mother's sentence.

"Huh? Bloodthirst? When have I heard of that name?"

"You know, Maple Blossom, he's the one we invited to our tea party when he met us for the first time?" reminded Sweet Potion.

"Was it him?"

"Yes, it's me!" answered Bloodthirst. "Look, I-"

"He's a good vampire pony! Remember he helped Novella Fantasy from those bullies?" Malinae finished for him. "He works out at Sugarcube Corner, too!"

The mare looked at Bloodthirst.

"So you're the vampire pony my cousins talked about?"

"Yeah, I am."

"Oh, I've heard about you! My family told me about your bravery on your expedition and the events at Prince Orion's engagement ceremony!"

"Really?"

"I forgot to introduce to you about her," said Applejack. "She's Maple Blossom, daughter of my brother Big Mac."

"Mom and Dad don't speak so much," Maple replied. "You go talk to them and they'll answer everything like 'yup's and 'mm-hmm's."

"Yeah, speak of which," interrupted Fiji. "Aren't you supposed to be with your brother Iron Granite? Where was he?"

"Oh, Iron Granite! He's as big as my father, but he's such a scaredy-pony. He went straight back to the barn after he heard that thunderous crash!"

"I suppose I owe him an apology," said Bloodthirst. "I didn't know I scared him."

"C'mon, it's not your fault!" Malinae emphasized again. ''We now know you're too powerful for that job, okay?"

"Alrighty," said Applejack. "Let's finish our duties, then we can gather together!"

Soon, everyone gathered at the main barn at Sweet Apple Acres. They were all treated to apple pies and cider. But Maple Blossom wasn't with them.

"Where's Maple?" wondered Applejack. "She should be here with her family."

"There they are!" pointed Sweet Potion.

Maple arrived. "Sorry, folks," she began. "It took us a while for him to accompany us to the break." She moved away to reveal Marble Pie, Big McIntosh and Iron Granite, who was hiding fearfully behind his father. He was as big as him, but unlike his red-colored father, he had his mother's color scheme.

"Uh… huh," said Raisin Brandy.

"Wh-where's that… destructive pony?" Iron Granite stammered.

"Here he is! Now come on, just say hi to him."

"D-does he-"

"He won't bite you!" snapped Maple, grabbing his hoof. "Come on, just greet him already!"

She dragged him along, making him stare eye to eye to Bloodthirst, who looked at them bewilderedly.

"So… you're her brother?" Bloodthirst asked.

"Y-yeah," Iron replied, his face away from him.

"You're big, I can say," commented Bloodthirst. "But, why do you look so scared?"

"B-because, because, I…"

"You what?"

"I'm… I'm scared of, of…"

"Me? But I'm harmless."

"H-how did you know what I was about to say?"

"I'm… just guessing."

"Why? Why can everypony know what I was thinking!?"

"Um, maybe, just… coincidence?" asked Sweet Potion.

"But why are you so scared of him?" Malinae inquired.

"I… I knew it… he was the one who made that loud booming sound which made me thought that there's a monster invading Sweet Apple Acres! And it was so loud I had to run back to the barn for shelter!"

"That's no monster. It was Bloodthirst showing us how strong he was!" answered Applejack.

"… strong?"

"The more you get to know him, you won't be scared of him, I guarantee," said Fiji.

Iron Granite stared at his new guest, still rather fearfully and sat on the table to eat his pie without a word.

"It's okay, he's always like this," Maple Blossom assured him. "He's rather scared in meeting new guests, I always told him, he'll be fine if you warm up with him eventually. I'm sure Mom and Dad can agree with me."

"Mm-hmm," replied Marble.

"Eeyup," added Big Mac.

"Yeah, hey, why don't you come to the rock farm this weekend?" Maple asked him. "You know, I sometimes go with my cousin Pepper Flake as part-time jobs. Mom used to work there with my aunts. Maybe you can come with us to watch us over."

"The rock farm?" he asked. "I… I never knew there was a rock farm."

"My grandparents have their business there. They make money from selling rocks for a fortune. They rocks they sell serve a lot of purposes!"

"You should go there," suggested Applejack. "I've been there with my family during Hearth's Warming Eve, and I can tell you everything. And that's when Big Mac first met Pinkie's sister!"

"Eeyup."

"So you should probably go there and try a bit of that work! You can go check with Rarity about it. I think that shouldn't be tough for ya."

"Seriously?"


	15. Chapter 15

Later, Bloodthirst spent his afternoon with Sweet Potion and her friends at their clubhouse. He told them all what Maple Blossom suggested him.

"So you're going to the rock farm?" asked Sonic Flash. "That sounds cool!"

"I'd wished I could go there, but for some reason," added Novella Fantasy. "I feel the rock farm's dangerous, and only somepony 'daring' can handle jobs at the rock farm. Mommy said so, too."

"Yeah, you may have a point," asserted Sweet Potion. "But there are light-duty jobs that you can to there, too. Y'all remember that magician Trixie? She worked there before! I remember auntie Applejack told me, she was complaining the entire job there!"

"Really?" pondered Bloodthirst. "I mean, have you ever worked there, Sweet Potion?"

"Nope, but my mom did once. Didn't Auntie Applejack tell you she went to the rock farm during one Hearth's Warming Eve?"

"Yeah, did she tell you her experiences?"

"Of course she did! Well, they nearly messed up everything, but at least, they all knew what was it to be like to live with the Pie Family."

"You can actually try out the jobs they give you," suggested Sonic. "Tough or not, perhaps Maple or Pepper Flake can guide you."

"I'll give it a shot," said Bloodthirst, determined. "Though I don't know what's gonna be in store for me."

"I've got high expectations on you!" shrilled Novella. "Just prove to me you can do it!"

On Saturday morning, Bloodthirst was already on the train bound towards the Pie Family rock farm. Travelling with him were Pepper Flake, Maple Blossom and Iron Granite.

"So, how you're feeling?" asked Pepper cheerfully to Bloodthirst, who was looking outside. "First time visiting my family's rock farm?"

"Don't know what to say, but this is kinda complicated for me," he replied. "If there's any job they're asking me to do I'm pretty nervous, since you've witnessed my superpony abilities that normal ponies can't even do!"

"Oh, don't worry!" calmed Pepper. "I'll just talk to them. I'll see what they can do!"

Iron Granite sat on the other side, looking at the scenery, too. At some times, he glanced across the walkway, looking at the strange pony his cousin was talking to.

"You still seem to feel suspicious on him, aren't you?" Maple asked him, interrupting his daydream.

"Uh, well… sort of," he admitted, not wanting Bloodthirst and Pepper to hear them. "J-just imagine he suddenly loses his sanity and come attack us!"

"Hush! He's got self-control. He'll never do that to us suddenly," she replied. "Maybe you should get to know more about him."

Iron only sat silently, still uneasy.

It wasn't long until the train finally arrived at the rock farm. Waiting for them at the platform was Maud Pie's only daughter Lapis Lazuli.

"Hello there, Pepper. Glad you're here for the weekend," greeted Lapis. "Oh, and Maple Blossom and Iron Granite, too."

"Yup, and look who I brought along!" Pepper moved aside, revealing Bloodthirst.

"Oh, you're Bloodthirst?" She walked up to him, shaking his hoof. "Pepper Flake's been telling me all about you. How have you been learning in Ponyville so far?"

"Erm, it's pretty fine, I suppose," he replied embarrassingly. "Apart from some of my friendship lessons from Rarity I've been-"

"Dealing his relationship with Platinum Royale," Pepper finished for him. "Baby steps, but it'll go smooth eventually!"

"You sure think you aren't exaggerating this too much, are you, Pepper?" asked Maple jokingly.

"Well, show us the way then," resumed Pepper.

They walked all the way to the Pie Family house. There, at the door, a gray, light blue-haired stallion was waiting for them.

"Very well," the stallion said. "Pretty right on time, as usual."

"As you would always say, Big Couz," replied Pepper.

"So today we're going to… Wait a minute." The stallion's eyes turned towards Bloodthirst, with a stern look on his face. "Who are you? Like I've never seen you before." He turned to Maple. "Is he an impostor?"

"Hey, you can't call that to my buddy!" retorted Pepper in dismay.

Maple laughed. "He's no impostor. He's somepony who happens to be residing recently in Ponyville!" She introduced. "Bloodthirst, he's Silicon Glass, the only son of Auntie Limestone Pie. He's currently the helper to his mother at the rock farm."

"As Maple Blossom says," continued Silicon. "I'm the one who's helping Mom to manage this area, especially the exports of the rocks and precious gems mined here. We've been handling this place with the help of my cousin Lapis Lazuli and my aunt Maud Pie ever since my grandparents retired many years ago, and my cousins and aunts who are living in Ponyville did contribute into helping my business."

"Well uh… what do you guys usually do there?" Bloodthirst inquired.

"Do? Why, mine for rocks of course! Then every several days a train would arrive and help deliver and send our mined rocks and jewels all across Equestria. And this, is how you make business!"

"Most of our family's income depends on mining rocks and gems," Maple explained to him further. "Thankfully, with Pepper Flake and her mother helping in Sugarcube Corner and Iron Granite and I working at Sweet Apple Acres we are able to help and support, too."

"Well then, since you're not an impostor, as Maple Blossom says," Silicon asked further. "Are you here to find a job to work with us?"

"Um, actually, I… only… wanted to work here for the weekend…"

"The weekend, eh?"

"As part of his friendship lessons!" answered Pepper. "And for a little experience."

"Very well," he responded. "Make sure you follow our basic rules here. Also, see that big boulder over there? It's named Holder's Bolder and this means a lot for our farm, so never, ever touch that." He then glared at him with a menacing look. "UNDERSTAND?"

"Y-yes, sir."

"Now follow us into the house, and my mother has a lot of explaining for you."

Bloodthirst followed, and he was quickly introduced to the rest of the Pie Family.

"Hmm," pondered Igneous Rock, scrutinizing him. "Not a really bad figure, as what my granddaughter described."

"From the way you're behaving, according to Pepper Flake's words," added Limestone Pie. "You seem to be… promising."

Bloodthirst only remained silent. At some times he took glimpses at Silicon Glass, whom he seemed to act harshly on him. It reminded him of his old nemesis back at Sugarcube Corner. Does he have a dislike to vampire ponies, too?

"Alright," said Limestone Pie to the group. "Today we are doing on our usual mining. Get your pickaxes, shovels and sacks ready. I want you all to mine with your usual manners. Oh, and don't forget your helmets!"

Bloodthirst followed everypony to the closet, where all mining equipment were stored. He waited until they all gathered their equipments, then he searched for his own. Fortunately, there were a few of them remaining. He took all of them and set for the door.

"Oh, you have these tools," remarked Limestone when she saw him. "It's a good thing I had an extra amount of them as spare ones. Just show me how you can work, okay? Silicon Glass is supervising you all."

"Um… okay, Madam," he replied meekly. For some reason, he didn't have the heart to tell Limestone about his tough-body ability as a vampire pony.

"Do you think he's gonna do well?" asked Maud Pie to Limestone as they watched him following the group.

"I'm sure he will," Limestone replied. "You know, if Pepper Flake says he's got a good heart, there's a good chance he'll show that."

At the mining grounds, everyone was working hard mining the high-quality rocks. But Bloodthirst wasn't appearing to be mining well. He feared that if he mined too hard in his own strength, he could break the pickaxe.

"Bloodthirst, are you alright?" asked Maple Blossom, who happened to be working right next to him. "You don't seem to be mining hard enough."

"I can't show my real strength. I've been watched on by Silicon Glass. He thinks I'm an outcast," he replied. "Can't you see the way he looks and speaks to me?"

"Well, you've got to excuse him. Most of the time he's just… grumpy."

"Seriously?"

"Alright, halt your works for a moment. The train to deliver the rocks is here!" announced Silicon Glass suddenly. "We've got fifty sacks to send to them. No slacking!"

"What!? FIFTY!?" moaned Pepper Flake, with a disgusted face.

"What do you think? All this large number accumulated while you're busy at your business in Ponyville. Now face this!" he rebuked.

Very soon, everyone began delivering the sacks of rocks onto the train car. While each one of them carried one sack at a time, Iron Granite carried three.

"You there! Is one too heavy for you?" Silicon called to Bloodthirst.

"Um… no. I-I can lift them!" he stammered, and making use of his ability, he was able to lift four sacks at a time. As he walked by Silicon, his jaw dropped.

"What in Equestria…?" he thought as he watched him. "Somepony of that size shouldn't be carrying that _many_! Has he taken steroids!?"

"Go, Bloodthirst, go!" cheered Pepper as he swept past them like a jet. Even Iron Granite himself was astonished! Just as he loaded the sacks into the car, he rushed back, carried another four and headed to the train, and he did this over and over until all the sacks have been loaded.

Even the train crew themselves could not believe their eyes.

"That's everything?" the guard asked Silicon.

"Exactly. And it's about another month again before you return for my next batch," he smirked.

The crew, saying nothing, went back to the train and departed.

"Alright, folks, that's all the job for the morning. We shall have a lunch break and afterwards, we're gonna do some rock grinding. Is that clear?"

"Right!"

At the rock grinding spot, everyone was grinding rocks into fine sand using mortars on the site. Bloodthirst, as gentle as he could, ground the rocks firmly without exerting too much of his own strength, taking care not to break the pestle. At the same time, he needed to be wary of Silicon Glass, who at the time, would snap at him anytime if he displayed poorly.

He was glad when it was eventually time for dinner. He joined the others at the dining table, sitting between Pepper Flake and Maple Blossom. Iron Granite, who sat beside Maple, was glad to stay away from the pony he thought weird!

"Don't worry, dude. Dinner's almost served!" Pepper assured him.

"What would it be?"

Before anyone could answer, Maud Pie appeared, with a pot of soup and she began ladling it onto everypony's bowls. To Bloodthirst's surprise, the soup had bits of rock.

"Surprise! Rock soup, our family's tradition!" Pepper said.

Bloodthirst said nothing. He just stared at his strange, unappetizing meal. Moreover, he took a glance at Silicon Glass, who was already drinking the soup. He must've thought, "Bet you couldn't drink that!", he thought to himself.

"Okay, stay cool, I'm gonna deal with this pathetic-looking rock," thought Bloodthirst as he stared at the rock in the liquid. Using the tablespoon, he held the rock, took a deep breath, and gave it a huge crunch, which startled everyone. They watched as he drank the entire soup, gobbling the stones that were inside as well.

"Whoa," gasped Lapis Lazuli. "Did you like it?"

"Nothing much to describe, but," he replied calmly as he finished. "It's acceptable."

"Then how about some more?" Silicon Glass asked gleefully. The moment he ladled it onto Bloodthirst's bowl, he drank it all again as well as crunching the rock. Silicon ladled it for the third time, and he drank it all with the contents again.

"Alright, I'm full now," he remarked and he left the dining table to retire to his room, much to the shock of Silicon Glass.

"What kind of pony _is_ he?" he asked in an astonishing manner.

"Special," said Pepper Flake quickly before following suit.

Later that night, while everyone was nearly asleep, Bloodthirst was still awake, recalling the events that happened earlier that day. He seemed to feel himself that he acted rather awkward, though all the while Silicon Glass felt that there was nothing suspicious on him. He got up and looked around. Everypony seemed fast asleep. There must be somepony who could be still awake. But it couldn't be the one he didn't want to meet.

He looked downstairs. There seemed to be light at the dining room. He walked down quietly. To his surprise, it was Limestone Pie, sitting on the table jotting down things on her journal. She put down her pencil as if she sensed somepony nearby.

"Come here. I think you have something to say?" she asked.

Bloodthirst was frightened by a bit. But he bravely stepped forward, and as he came face to face with Limestone, he drew out a chair and sat.

"So your name is Bloodthirst?" Limestone asked. "Sorry if I couldn't remember your name earlier. But from what I heard from Pepper Flake and Maple Blossom, you're really nice with manners."

"Yes, I've been exercising with them," Bloodthirst replied, and told her all about his story.

"I see," replied Limestone when he finished. "An interesting story you got here, though I feel some might find it disturbing. It's a good thing, too that you're showing your changes through friendship, like how I was when I was younger. I was a grumpy mare, learning to take responsibility for the rock farm. After so many incidents that come and go, I already learnt to be more sensible."

"Well, yeah, but your son-"

"It's alright. Just make do with him. He reminds me of my old self. I'm sure he'll change, too, someday," she said with an affable look.

"Okay… I feel silly to use my abilities on rock crushing and everything, and at the same time I'm feeling wary that Silicon Glass is watching me and he could lash at me anytime and he would fire me straight!"

"Well, he's like that, grumpy, like my old self. He does that to Pepper Flake, too. He doesn't seem to tolerate with her upbeat style. Well, you know you had a bored day and you want to cheer yourself and others. Perhaps he'll get them someday."

"Alright then," he replied before leaving upstairs. "I'll just try to behave well tomorrow. I just couldn't let anypony whom they placed their trust on me down."

"Good luck on that," said Limestone. "I'm sure Silicon can see your true heart."


	16. Chapter 16

Next morning came.

Silicon Glass had already led the group to the entrance to the crystal mine. He had been explaining to them all about it.

"… so what you'll be doing is to mine all those gems and jewels. We need them to be sold to jewelry shops all around Equestria, and not for those greedy dragons. Is everything clear from me?"

"Yes!"

"And you!" He turned to Bloodthirst. "Have you got my instructions clear? I don't wish to see you slacking around, although your work yesterday was quite err, decent, so keep that up. Got that?"

"Y-yes, sir."

Very soon, the group entered into the crystal mine. It was sparkling with gems everywhere, though it gave some a sinister feeling on something bad waiting to happen.

"I wonder how come no dragon would even come to this place," said Bloodthirst.

"Dragons at that time were prohibited from leaving the Dragon Lands," explained Maple Blossom. "This place used to be part of the Dragon Lands, until the dragons migrated. Our ancestor, Holder Cobblestone found that boulder somewhere in a dragon's nest, so he built a farm around it. This is why Holder's Boulder is a sacred object to the Pie family."

"Well, what if it's really a dragon… _egg_?"

"Nonsense! There's nothing to incubate it, so even if Holder's Boulder were an egg, there would be a little chance that a baby dragon would hatch," continued Silicon.

In a short while, everypony were at their respective sections in the mine, harvesting the crystal gems. Bloodthirst mined at a corner. Nearby him were Pepper Flake, Silicon Glass and Iron Granite.

As they mined, Iron Granite approached Silicon and whispered.

"Um, can I tell you something?"

"What is?"

"You know… about our… guest, here…"

"Yeah, so?"

Before Iron could answer, disaster struck.

"Whoa! What's going on!?" exclaimed Maple Blossom as the entire mine shook.

"It's an earthquake. To the exit!" exclaimed Lapis Lazuli.

"Hey! Wait for me… I mean us!" cried Pepper.

The entire cave trembled. Rocks could be heard sliding and falling.

As Maple and Lapis raced to the entrance, a huge noise roared behind them. As they turned back, to their horror, a section of the mine collapsed, blocking the path!

"No! Pepper and the others are trapped!" cried Maple.

"We'll save them later. Mind our lives now!" said Lapis as they continued rushing out.

Meanwhile, Pepper, Silicon and Iron stared at the huge wall that was formed without warning. The tremors have already stopped.

"Darn it… we're trapped!" blurted Silicon.

"Bo-ho-ho… how am I supposed to survive!?" wailed Pepper.

"Nrg, no!" Suddenly, Iron Granite remembered Bloodthirst, who was last seen at a corner. He rushed back into the darkness.

"Iron Granite! Where are you going!?" called Silicon as he chased him into the now pitch-black mine. Pepper followed.

When they found where he was, he looked everywhere, but they didn't see anything.

"Wait, you're looking for… that one pony!?" Silicon asked.

"Uh… yeah."

With limited brightness, Silicon tried searching and feeling every corner, but there was no sign of Bloodthirst.

At last, he uttered.

"That's it. I knew this would happen."

"What?" asked Iron, seemingly confused.

"I knew he was about to bring us some bad omen. And he did."

"What bad omen? I-I mean-"

"You wanted to tell me something about him, right?"

"Yes, and…"

"I already knew what you're gonna say, assuming you feel suspicious and wary about him."

"B-but that's not what I meant!"

"Admit it! I have this in mind all the while, so you should be thinking the same as I do!"

"QUIET!" screamed Pepper Flake, having been witnessing their argument all the while.

"What now, Pepper Flake?" rebuked Silicon. "Are you gonna tell me that you're thinking the same as I am?"

"It's not that!" she retorted. "You're not gonna make it any better if you guys keep quarrelling!"

"She uh… has a point," squeaked Iron. "I… don't really wish to talk back…"

"So tell me, what are you to say about him?" demanded Silicon.

"Alright, listen here, Mister," began Pepper severely. "First, I have known Bloodthirst for several months, and he hasn't been bringing trouble to me and my friends. Second, you guys don't know everything about Bloodthirst. He looks threatening, but he's harmless. He wants to put his abilities on a good side! He's got some special abilities that you guys don't even have!"

"What do you mean? What are you talking about?"

"She's right." Suddenly, Bloodthirst's voice boomed out of nowhere.

"Where is it!?" asked Silicon.

"Right there!" Pepper Flake pointed to a corner. And sure enough, Bloodthirst emerged out from the rubble, looking unscathed.

"Yay! I knew you'd survived!" Pepper instantly hugged him.

"I thought you're… crushed?" asked Silicon Glass, bemused.

"I _would_ be, if I were you," he explained, wearily but firmly. "But as Pepper Flake says, I'm not really like you normal ponies. My body's tough as heck, tougher than diamond. That's why I can survive this crush."

"Tough… that means you're stronger than Iron Granite!?" He recalled the moment Bloodthirst carried more sacks than Iron Granite did the day before.

"Well, he is," said Iron humbly.

"Well, we need you here. We're trapped, and there's no way out for us!" Pepper said to him as she helped him out of the rubble.

"Really? Show me the blockade."

"But it's dark here, and we can't see a thing!" insisted Silicon.

"I can see through anything. I have night vision," he finished and with Pepper Flake as his guide, she led him to the blocked passage, with Silicon and Iron following.

"Here, it's blocked completely," said Pepper when they arrived.

Bloodthirst scrutinized it.

"Alright guys, stand back," he ordered. "I can smash through this wall, but some bits might get to you, and you guys don't want to get yourselves hurt, do you?"

Everyone stood back as Bloodthirst instructed. Taking a deep breath, Bloodthirst aimed at the center of the wall, and with a punch from his hoof, he finally cleared part of the wall.

"Now that's what I call vampire pony ability!" praised Pepper.

"You… made it," said an astonished Silicon Glass. "I see now. Perhaps I'll need to learn more about judging ponies…"

"You need to," replied Bloodthirst. "After all, I have a lot more to learn, too."

Using his abilities, Bloodthirst managed to smash more obstacles blocking the path. Soon, they managed to arrive at the entrance of the mine.

"Whoa, we made it," sighed Silicon with relief.

"Now we need to look for the rest," added Bloodthirst.

"Ooh, speak of the devil!" called Pepper excitedly.

Sure enough, Maple Blossom and Lapis Lazuli arrived with the rest of the family.

"Wait, you're out here already!?" asked Lapis, surprised.

"How did you… Oh wait, you must've helped them out!" concluded Maple, pointing to Bloodthirst.

"Yeah, if it wasn't him we would've been trapped for _hours_!" said Pepper.

"Or maybe days if we called a rescue team and dig through this mine," said Maud Pie.

"No… no!" wailed Iron Granite. "I don't want to be trapped for days. I can't live without my family!" He rushed and hugged his sister.

"At least you're not now," retorted Maple, rather annoyingly.

"Well, glad that everypony made it out here alive," said Limestone Pie. "But we have another job to do, and I think Bloodthirst can do the job."

"What?"

"When we rushed out of the mine we saw Holder's Boulder rolling and falling down the cliff… again. It always happens when an earthquake strikes, and it would take at least four of us to push it, and it would take hours, even with Iron Granite helping us," explained Maple.

"I believe, Bloodthirst, that with your ability, you should have no problem moving back Holder's Boulder back into place," finished Silicon.

"I'll try," Bloodthirst answered. "But you guys might need to assist me, too."

He trotted towards the fallen boulder, and with a push from his hoof, hey presto! The boulder moved more than a few hoofsteps at a time!

Everyone watched in awe.

"What are you guys waiting? Come and help me," he said, turning back to the group.

As everypony looked at each other, Iron Granite went ahead, and he stood beside Bloodthirst.

"You know, Pepper Flake was right," he confessed, with a meeky look. "You don't really bite after all."

"I only bite bad guys," he replied. "And anypony else that hurts me or you."

Shortly after, Silicon Glass joined, and the rest followed.

"You know, it's actually fortunate to have you here," Silicon said. "Like Maud says, I don't know what to do if we're still trapped here. I'm sorry for all of my suspicions against you. I think, I've learnt a new lesson in my life."

"That's alright," forgave Bloodthirst. "I have a lot to learn too…"

"Why don't you actually come and work with us?" asked Limestone. "From how you did yesterday, it gave us numerous benefits."

"I want to be in Ponyville, mostly," he replied honestly. "I still must learn more about friendship, with Platinum Royale and Melody Aurora…"

"You don't have to come every day, actually," suggested Maple. "You can come like… maybe once or twice a month?"

"You know, think about your part-time job at Sugarcube Corner. Aren't they just similar?" reminded Pepper Flake. "Besides, Novella Fantasy will be happy to hear about your adventure!"

"Well, I guess, that's close, too."

"It's your pride. You deserve it," said Lapis Lazuli.

"Well anyway, why don't we get this thing moving back?" asked Silicon.

Instantly everyone went back to their thing that was supposed to do.

But it was that one eventful weekend that taught somepony a valuable lesson. Don't you agree?


	17. Chapter 17

"There, here's your tea," said Mrs Shy as she gently poured it onto Bloodthirst's teacup. "I got this back from one of our Las Pegasus trips recently, and they say it's the city's Number One!"

Bloodthirst took a sip on the tea. "Mm, that's pretty sweet," he replied. "I'm not a tea expert, but it's surely first class among other teas in Equestria."

"Oh, nice to hear!" beamed Mr Shy. "I could say, you're really a gentlecolt, with good manners like my grandson. So it isn't a waste for my grandchildren to bring you here!"

"We take the credit, Grandpa," replied Beryl. "He won't be a ruthless rouge with us having to talk and care for him."

"Yeah, I know I am polite." Chaos Control suddenly felt ashamed and hung his head. "Everyone knows I'm nice but the truth is, I don't really get along with my father well. His and my ideas don't mix," he sighed. "If only Dad gets to know me more…"

"Hey, cheer up, old lad!" comforted Mr Shy. "At least, you must be doing well with your marefriend?"

"Psst, don't forget Bloodthirst doesn't have his parents anymore!" whispered Beryl quietly. Seeing Bloodthirst drinking his tea, she thought he would be busy drinking to hear what she whispered.

"Chaos, I think you can talk more with your dad," Bloodthirst said suddenly. "I personally feel Discord ain't someone bad, you two just need to know each other better."

"How did you know what I was whispering?" asked Beryl who was rather surprised. "I thought you're busy drinking your tea."

"Sixth sense," he replied. "Plus my super hearing."

"Whoa, splendid!" beamed Mr Shy. "You really deserve to save the world with the young princess in Ponyville!"

"He did help us, in defeating her nemesis," replied Chaos.

"Well, in any case," asked Mrs Shy. "Have you been taking him for any sightseeing lately?"

"As a matter of fact, we brought him to a concert a few days ago," said Chaos. "He got carried away in meeting a fellow musician, but at least we still got to meet a new, uprising one."

"That's great!" Mrs Shy replied. "Are you two planning on some more events?"

"We are to accompany some fillies to Manehattan next weekend," said Beryl. "They're attending a talent show, and it's taking place in the city. They actually quite remind us of the band Pepper Flake started. I hope they're gonna be as successful as we do."

"Aren't you two taking this dude with you?" inquired Mr Shy.

"Oh, he's coming with us!" Beryl replied.

"I never visited Manehattan before, and I thought I would come with them," Bloodthirst added. "Platinum Royale and Prudence Aura said they are coming along, too. They also said they wanted to visit somepony who's an old friend of Applejack… Coloratura's the name if I remember correctly."

"Coloratura? Oh, she's just too famous!" exclaimed Beryl. "She was the biggest pop star in all of Equestria, and was once used to be known as 'Countess Coloratura', but after a rift with one of her former managers she dropped her old stage name. She's still keeping in touch with Applejack, from what Raisin Brandy told me."

"Uh, Beryl, I don't think he'll understand who's Coloratura, Sapphire Shores or any popular Equestrian pop star," said Chaos. "They got lots of songs and histories to remember!"

"It's alright, Chaos, now I know that Coloratura is a close friend of Applejack," chuckled Bloodthirst. "I just need some place to listen some popular music of Equestria. That concert already gave me some classical sense."

"We'll talk about that when we come back from Manehattan," dismissed Beryl. "We'll ask Melody for that."

"Oh, about Manehattan, there's something I would like you two to do," said Mrs Shy suddenly, as she produced a tea packet. "I'd like you two to give this to your uncle Zephyr Breeze and his family, please, if you happen to visit him. I'm sure Windflower would love this, too."

"Don't worry, Grandma. We did plan to visit Uncle Zephyr on this visit, too!" assured Beryl.

"Uncle Zephyr and Windflower?" asked Bloodthirst. "Who are they?"

"They're our uncle and our cousin respectively," replied Chaos. "Uncle Zephyr's been living in Manehattan since he found a job there many years ago."

"You know, the talk about Zephyr Breeze," said Mrs Shy meekly. "He doesn't have a solid goal when he was young. You can ask Fluttershy, she'll tell you everything."

"He was freeloading and always sought accommodation at our home, but now we're glad he has his own family and a stable job," added Mr Shy.

"We can explain more about Uncle Zephyr and his family on our way home," Beryl said to Bloodthirst.

"You know, young lad," Mr Shy spoke to Bloodthirst. "I like the way you ask a lot of questions. It reminds me of my kids when they were young!" he chuckled.

Bloodthirst only blushed.

On their way home, Bloodthirst asked Chaos and Beryl more about Zephyr Breeze and Windflower.

"So, who exactly is Windflower? And what's all about him?"

"Windflower's been living in Manehattan all the time," explained Beryl. "He and his family visit us nearly once every two months, and we visit them back a few times a year when we needed to."

"You know, Mom used to tell us about Uncle Zephyr's failures, and how he eventually succeeded. I'd see Windflower's having his father's traits, but despite all of these, Uncle Zephyr always has his back." Chaos Control sighed, thinking about his poor relationship with his father. "He's a bit annoying for me, even asking me about the tiniest problems. Even so, I'd support him, too."

"I guess, you're close as cousins, too," said Bloodthirst, remembering his sweet little cousin Sweetie Peach. "Either still, I'm still really excited about Manehattan."

"You'll be surprised at how big it is," assured Beryl. "It's going to be beyond your imagination."

Soon the day everyone set off to Manehattan arrived. Everyone was already on board the train. The foals wouldn't stop chattering.

"I bet this is gonna be exciting!" Sweet Potion spoke. "You know there's a lot of things to do at Manehattan!"

"Yeah, you know how I exactly feel!" added Sonic Flash. "I wanna swipe lots of souvenirs to give out to everypony in class!"

"You know," retorted Glittering Gold. "You guys sound like you never visited Manehattan before. I've been there _dozens_ of times accompanying my mom in relationships."

"Oh really?" insisted Novella Fantasy. "Well I've been there dozens of times, _too_! Especially when I accompany my mom to go shopping!"

"Oh I've been there thrice!" added Stainless Steel. "My mom needs me sometimes when she's accompanying the mayor!"

"Okay, kids, don't fight," called Beryl. "You know you're supposed to give a good show, and you shouldn't spoil your mood like that. And Glittering Gold, you can't just brag to your friends how many times you've been there. You kids don't talk back too. Just keep quiet and it'll be fine."

"Fine," replied Glittering and Stainless as they returned to their seats.

"Thanks, Beryl," said Novella. "You really don't know this, but we sometimes quarrel over matters," she whispered.

"Learn to ignore and tolerate, they'll get tired of it eventually," advised Beryl.

"Beryl has a point," agreed Platinum Royale. "They're just bored and jealous so they'll be up to stupid tricks so don't care about them."

"Well we sometimes can't help that," replied Sweet Potion.

In front of the coach, Bloodthirst and Chaos Control were sitting with each other. Bloodthirst was looking at the scenery. He was remembering Beryl and Platinum's words about Manehattan. Platinum had showed him a number of photos of her family in Manehattan. It was definitely gorgeous, so how gorgeous would Manehattan look like to him? Before they left, Rarity told them that their accommodation would be in her husband Elusive Streak's home close to Hooflyn. That actually saved Chaos and Beryl's bother of looking for a hotel and pay a fee there. Bloodthirst was told that Zephyr Breeze also lived close to Hooflyn, but he didn't want to ask them to prevent spoiling himself.

"Bloodthirst?" called Chaos, snapping him out of his daydream. "You asleep?"

"Chaos?" responded Bloodthirst. "You need anything?"

"You know, actually," Chaos began to narrate. "The day we came home after our visit to my grandparents, I actually reflected on your advice. After dinner I managed to have a talk with dad, I told him all of my feelings and regrets, and you guess what? He told me, he should've known my feelings, too. It was like, we finally realized with each other. Over the next few days he has been talking to me nicely. I guess, your advice worked after all. I'm sorry if it actually reminded you about your deceased parents."

"No offense taken," he replied gracefully. "I'm only trying to help. I just wanted others to realize how it feels like without parents. If I were a parent one day, I would remind my children about that." He glanced behind to see Platinum Royale happily chatting with her sister and Beryl.

"You must be imagining," smiled Chaos to him. "Anyway, glad to see you're mature-minded. I'm happy to have you as my friend."

Bloodthirst just smiled back and continued to watch the scenery.

It wasn't long before the bridge signaling the entrance to Manehattan was in sight. Immediately, Bloodthirst became awed with the city scene. With skyscrapers towering over the air, it all looked like a modernized site to him.

As he looked all over in awe, Prudence Aura approached him.

"Welcome to Manehattan, Bloodthirst," she said to him.


End file.
